Bluesound Node2i and wifi frustrations: Mesh!


Much as I've enjoyed the convenience of the Node2i and ability to surf not only my own library but pretty much the world's music, one of the MOST frustrating things for me has been its propensity to lose connectivity. Hardwiring pretty much is a non-starter in this home as the cable and router need to be where they are(upstairs) and the Node2i needs to be where it is(downstairs). And at opposite corners of our home no less. I tried using a wifi extender, and even ugraded that, to no avail. I still would get annoying drop-outs. Pretty darned frustrating when you want to enjoy Friday evening cocktails with the missus and the music suddenly quits. Grrr...
I had upgraded our router a couple months ago from our 6 year old ASUS to a new ASUS RT-AX86U. That helped a but not enough. So yesterday I had a mental lightbulb come on and remembered that the RT-AX86U also supports AiMesh. Amazon to the rescue... I got it last night and just finished setting it up this morning, which was very, very easy. I went ahead and installed the new ASUS RP-AC1900 in my hifi cabinet and ran some Cat5 from it to the Node2i and voila! No more drop outs.
Using the ASUS router admin utility I checked and the signal and it's rock solid. Sounds good too! Placebo? Maybe. Or maybe it's that I'm a much happier camper and not have to worry about when the music is going to quit anymore.
There are plenty of other brands out there that support Mesh technology, ASUS isn't your only option. But from even from just early results, I really recommend looking into upgrading your wifi to Mesh if you're having issues.

Happy listening.
musicfan2349

Showing 6 responses by musicfan2349

Turns out having the mesh node in the stereo cabinet is a bad idea with regards to my C-J Premier 6 pre-preamp... It's VERY sensitive to EMI.

So I either need to move the mesh node across the living room and run Cat5 or shut down the node to play vinyl. *facepalm*

Happy listening.
@mlsstl 
Thanks for the suggestion. Problem is, now I have the investment in the mesh network... I think my solution of running Cat5 from across the living room has legs though. I can tuck the cable under the quarter round and carpeting and put the node across the room. Will update the thread when I've implemented the fix.
Happy listening.

@bacobits1 
Just looked those and it's simply another implementation of mesh technology, which is what I have. But the problem isn't the node itself, it's the proximity to my rig. I just need to put some distance between it and the C-J.
@jetter 
Now that I read the specs on the various Cat#, I see that Cat8 would be sheer overkill for this application. OTOH, for some things like audio, why do when you can overdo? Thanks for the suggestion! :)
Happy Listening.
@lalitk
Agreed on the powerline adapters.
As for the Node2i existing for background music vs being my "focus", about 95% of the time it conveniently provides the soundtrack to our end of the week cocktail hour. But for that other 5% I’m still exploring how much more prevalent it might be in my serious listening sessions. (Hence my upgrading to a Border Patrol DAC not too long ago.)When I reconsidered where the mesh node has to be relocated and where the cable would need to be routed, perhaps the Cat8 with it’s shielding isn’t such a bad idea. It needs to follow along my preamp cables, past the speakers and their cables, and the sub and amplifier to get to the other side of the room where the node will be moved to.
I can think of worse ways to spend $150 bucks.Happy listening.

@lalitk 
Ah you didn't see my update from a few days ago then.

"Turns out having the mesh node in the stereo cabinet is a bad idea with regards to my C-J Premier 6 pre-preamp... It's VERY sensitive to EMI".
So I simply need to move the node from its current location to about 20' across the room. No big deal and the effort is still way worth the improvement in wifi generally in our home vs. the extenders I'd tried previously.

Happy listening.

@
Ha ha! Success!!

I obtained a 25' length of Cat8 and moved the mesh node across the room from the system. The resulting move got rid of the interference and my phono stage is blessedly quiet once again. So excellent wifi coverage, hardwiring for the Node2i and no interference. Happy camper indeed!
Thanks much for  the Cat8 recommendation!

Happy listening.