Bluesound Vault 2i, Cocktail Audio X40 or ??????????

I have asked this question before. I have not taken any action on it but one line of thinking is that if you have a computer and good CD ripping software (dBpoweramp...free) you can rip them yourself onto an inexpensive hard drive, plug that HD into a Blue Sound Node 2i and save yourself about $500.

If you go the route of the Node 2 and use whatever software you could potentially use with a cd ripper and hard drive make sure the file folders are set up for Bluessound to read, otherwise a lot of extra work is needed for each album file folder. (Cover.jpg is the default label for artwork. Look at the far bottom of the link.)

https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/articles/200271926-Why-is-some-of-my-Album-Cover-Art-shown-a...



mobile_site=trueuesound.com/hc/en-us/articles/200347887-What-Formats-are-Supported-by-Bluesound-?...

In other words, these are the music formats Bluesound will recognize and this is how each album art (metadata) has to be labeled in each music file folder.
 

Fine tips. Thanks. But if you don't have the node2 to start with, the extra cost for a Vault2i isn't that high. You miss the wifi streaming though.

Yeah if the OP tries the Vault 2, the ripping and labeling will be done by the Bluesound so no worries there at all. And BTW the Vault 2 does allow streaming just like the Node 2 does, of either your local network hard drive or such streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, Pandora and others. Try MQA on Tidal, I tend to explore those albums quite frequently.

2psyop... I'm not aware of having Pandora access via the Vault and Node.  Am I mistaken?

My error on Pandora..
Radio stations supported; Calm radio, iHeart radio, Radio Paradise, Slacker radio, TuneIn radio.
Music services supported; Amazon music, Deezer HiFi, Groove, Juke, KK Box, Murfie, Napster, Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal and WiMP.
I think a lot of people are using Roon integrated with Bluesound with great success.

The streaming you have. And it works very well. But the built-in wifi you miss with the Vault. Or am I wrong? Note that the new i-series is out now and the reviews says considerably better sq. Maybe just marketing.......

I believe the I-series uses a different DAC so I am willing to believe it may sound better, but if you use an external DAC that would be a non factor.

I ripped my CD's with dbpoweramp to wav file . I didn't change any settings other than  rip to wav and where to store the files and my Node2i found them without any problem when I hooked it up and built the index.  Maybe dbpoweramp stores in the format needed  for the album art?  I use an external dac which sound significatly better than the one in the node2i not sure about the vault 2i. 

What I understand its the same DAC in node2, node2i, vault2 and vault2i. But the i-version includes other techniques taken from the NAD M51 which is said to have had a "big" positive effect on the sound. 

@djones51 
Can I ask what DAC would sound so much better? Have you had the possibility to a/b test?

Benchmark DAC 3B and I use my wife for blind testing. I know it is not a perfect test but if she asks why it sounds so much better then it works for me. 

The Benchmark doesn't unfold MQA but it does play MQA in 24/96. 

Thanks. Nice test procedure. No arguing there :-)

You can stream Pandora through bluetooth to the Vault or Node. My advice is buy the Vault and rip the CDs directly.

The Node 2i and Node 2 are akin to the Swiss Army knife of the audio world. Lots of choices for audio streamers, dacs, servers devices but not too many that do as many varied tasks, with as much versatility as the Nodes. With the Vault it’s like a Swiss Army Deluxe because you add the ripping of your CD collection and proper tagging and metadata. Heck one could even spend an entire year by going to the local library and borrowing CDs to rip! You might have a huge library over time. What I like even more about Bluesound is the commitment to customer service, which I have used many times and the guys are awesome and the budget prices, since both of these devices are under $1200. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Thank you all for invaluable input. Btw, I use a similar testing procedure as djones51. In my case it's the girlfriend who has fabulous ears but could care less about what's behind the sound. Her input is amazing.

For me it's my son with the golden ears. Wife's only interested when I put on some Mercury, Bowie or Boccelli.
Always tries to a/b test streamers, dacs, amps and speakers. So far my ears only recognized real differences with speakers.....Favourite amp at the moment is the Paradigm pw amp with inbuilt arc2 room correction because the RC makes wonders with my desk top SQ.

I have to give a vote for the Vault 2...
I use it for streaming and ripping CD's and find it to be remarkably good sounding... My only frustrations are that it has no XLR outputs and it does take approx 5 mins to rip a CD which seems like long time when I am loading in a batch of CDs all at once...

Other than those issues I love its ease of use and its overall functionality as well as sound quality.  Yes, I like the Swiss Army knife analogy... Lots of useful functions.

The company does provide regular software/firmware updates for free and the Vault is connected to my router by a 20' generic cat 5 cable.

The Vault 2 is far better sounding than my previous Sonos set up which was convenient as a tuner and distribution field device for other rooms. In my opinion it did not have the sound quality I wanted as a source for my main listening room system which is all Audio Research gear and quite revealing of source material as well as cables and even fuses.

I do recommend Sonos gear to friends and neighbors who want something easy, inexpensive, even portable,fd and with a nice user interface.

My wife loves music, is not a gear head or audiophile but she recognized the Vault as better sound than the Sonos immediately.

 I did upgrade the AC power cord to a moderately priced ($90?) AQ version and I am using Cardas Clear light RCA 1m interconnects... each which improved the imaging, tonality as well as clarity of the Vault 2... I have not experimented with the Cardas Clear cables with it since they cost more than the Vault and I am using them for my ARC CD player... might be interesting at some point.

I am not up on the newer Bluesound gear however Id like to get an extension speaker for another part of the house so I'll be looking into it.  Enjoy the music !

I just got a Vault 2i and it has changed my life !!!    I messed around with ripping to a HDD via PC and playing the files through my OPPO....   the OPPO did a great job at letting me access files but adding music was a pain...

I was real apprehensive about archiving my CDs to FLAC but the Vault to me sounds identical to the CD when playing through my DAC.   

I have been ripping all day and the best part is I'm listening to files and Tidal while doing so.   

The analog out sounds pretty good too... better than my DAC?  Maybe just as good although different presentation.  I think it's safe to say it souds better than most CD players I've owned.   I was impressed with the MQA files played through it for the most part.  

Im using an Android Tab for control but also havethe app on my phone.  Another great feature is that I can control it through the OPPO player through the network if I want to see my library on the TV and use an IR remote.  

Blutooth HD in both directions....  coax and toslink,  it has everything that kept me from buying the original Vault and then some...

Congrats. I have been a fan of Bluesound for some time now, since I bought a Node 2. The customer service is top notch and the NAD family helps with tech excellence.

I am the original poster. Thank you all for your input. I did wind up with the Vault 2i and am really happy with my choice. Yes, ripping all those CDs is a bit of a pain, but I just leave a pile next to the Vault and whenever I pass by, I insert one. Also very surprised to hear that several of you find the sound to be better than Sonos. Nice bonus for me.

Once again, thank you all. My best wishes for a super 2019.

Alan

Enjoy!!!   I'm still ripping....  great to know you can add and remove music through the the network too... there is so much documention and support out there I'm glad I went with the Vault.

Why bother with all this ripping of CDs? ??  I have never seen the point in that.
So you spend days copying your pile of CDs, most you have not played in years,  are you really going to be playing most of the copies anytime soon.
So now what are you going to do with the CDs? Sell them, give them away, dump them?
Besides, all those tunes are now easily streamable from many sources,  that will sound just as good or better.
Just like all that music you put on tape years ago, how much have anyone gone back and played?

Long time ripper here. I would like to add some thoughts to the process. I recently bought the Vault 2i and I think it is good for its job, however you may want to consider a different approach. 
When I started the process I bought the pro version of Dbpoweramp. (Worth the investment) being from the IT background I was concerned about fault tolerance and corruption. I decided to go the NAS route with disk (RAID) protection. I ripped with maximum error correction in FLAC and zero compression. This became my base master. I then ran a batch conversion to apple lossless to upload to Match. I also ran a conversion to a 320 mp3 directory for compressed data for a iPod store on my Harley (outdated today) The point here is I could do whatever I wanted with the master after it was ripped bit for bit. Up until now I have been using my SB Transporter ( still have 3 if anyone wants to buy them). What intrigues me most about the Vault 2i was the Apple integration and a single interface for all our music and music services. In addition to our class A music room we also play music through HomePod pairs ( yeah I know they are pricey but sound good in pairs) in the Kitchen, bedroom and sunrooms. The vault 2i shows up as a target on airplay2 and the music app is easy for my wife and she can simply tell Siri to play the music to any combination of targets. 
We have 40k songs ripped, Apple Music, and Tidal. I feel that I have achieved access to high quality music of my choice and ease of use for my wife and as any married man here can attest. Happy wife Happy Life!!!! To prove the point... I told her I am going to sell my ATC 5.1 system and buy the new ATC20 pro combo with the ATC P2 mk2 bundle and she thought it was a good idea 😉

Oz

I have a Vault and I’m just about to  finish ripping 700 cd’s. This took 9 weeks just walking over and inserting the cd and replacing it when it finished ripping.  The nine weeks could be much longer if you are not as on top of it as I was. 

I couldn’t imagine doing this through my computer it wouldnt be worth saving 500.00 for all the extra labour involved.

I know someone who ripped 2700 cds with his computer and wished he would have purchased a vault. He could not believe the time involved. 

The vault ripped in bit perfect. 

I ripped them all into wav, I am not sure why anyone would want to rip them into flac not unless your music collection will fill the Vault's hard drive of course.

While the Vault was ripping them into wav I set it to also rip all cd's into vbr so I have a copy in wav and vbr.

Anyway this is my experience with the vault. 

Has anybody transferred flac files from an NAS to the Vault?  Is it easy to do?

So what’s the difference sonically between playing by cds that I’ve copied to my iTunes account and ripping them to a Vault (or something similar). In either case I need my iPad or iPhone to select tracks to play. Is Bluesound’s software preferable to the iTunes interface?  In the first case I use Bluetooth to connect to a Bose soundlink unit that connects via optical cable to my preamp. In the second, I still need to use my iPad or iPhone, and the Vault would connect via RCA cables. In the first case does the Bluetooth link degrade quality? Will using the highdef ripping options on the Vault really sound different? Is there any generic difference between an optical and an RCA cable or does the quality of either matter more? Managing disk storage is an issue either way. Seeking wise counsel before investing in equipment and time.

I purchased a Bluesound Vault 2i late last spring and at first it worked but was so complicated to operate that several times I needed telephone help from someone who I had take control of my computer and made a copy of the music library I had made on the Vault by ripping my collection of about 175 CDs into it. For purposes of ripping CDs, the error correction from the slow multiple passes over each CD and automatic internet connection to put cover art for each CD together is far more than any ripping software you can put into a computer. But the way it stored and indexes is designed for pop/rock songs and performers. It has a way to index music by composers but this process is as daunting as trying to put together a wardrobe for a hermaphroditic transvestite. In time the cable connection to the internet went bad and it took them about a month to eventually send me a replacement.
The Vault has a capacity of, is it one terabyte or two terabytes? Since all 175 of my CD's and several 24/96 downloads I purchased, which all sounded noticeably better using a vintage MSB Platinum external DAC into an 833A SET which I built myself, only consume about 30 GB, which easily fits onto a USB flash drive several times the size rather than in the hard drive you get with the new Vault. My library was easy to reassemble into a collection of folders on my laptop, one folder for each composer. I put each folder onto an external USB flash drive several time the size of my library. Since I will never rip another CD because I can download albums most of which are in higher resolution than 16/44 for the same price as a CD, I have no need to use the Vault's hard drive. I plug the flash drive into the back of the Vault, click on the USB icon and select from an alphabetical list of composers, open the file, and play it that vastly simpler way. Whenever I want to add to my library I download the work, CDs having rendered obsolete for anything but listening to in my old car, and I can place it in the composer's folder on the flash drive, and I do not have to spend hours updating a library in the Vault's hard drive. This has another possible advantage. I do not know if the Vault's hard drive has any moving parts to wear out but I don't have to worry about it because I am not using it.
I still would like to consider streaming music through the Vault, but I am not interested in taking out any paid subscription. Are there any free high resolution sources through which I can do so?
The other sources in my system are a vintage Magnum Dynalab FM tuner I connected with a homemade antenna selector switch for choosing different towered antennas each pointing towards a city which had a classical music station. These stations all play CDs or files of CD's in 16/44 and HD radio and listening over the internet offers less resolution, an OPPO blue ray player which is the only way I can play my 5 channel SACDs because copyright laws do not allow an external 5 channel DAC to decode them, not that I could afford such a thing at this time, and a turntable for vinyl.