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Dead Bluesound Node 2

I have a Bluesound Node 2 that died recently and I'm wondering what I should do next. 
First off, it was only 3 years old.  I got conflicting reports from customer service as to what went wrong, but either way, it was working fine one day and the next day it would not respond and it would not re-set.  I have been round and round with customer service and as far as they are concerned, it is out of warranty, so tough toenails; they will not take it back for a repair.  They offered to sell me a new unit at a reduced price or a refurbished unit at an even lower price but somehow that doesn't sit right with me. 

My habit has always been to buy reasonably good gear and keep it for a long time.  It's also my habit not to reward a manufacturer with additional purchases once they have done me wrong.  I have never had a piece of gear fail so quickly.  I have never had a manufacturer tell me they would not repair or service a component.  This little guy was not abused, and barely moved from the time I plugged it in, so I don't think I did anything wrong. 

Now I know a lot of you folks love your Nodes.  Admittedly, I did too.  I used it almost every day, created dozens of playlists (which are presumably gone forever) and I even added a Qobuz subscription about 6 months ago.  I can't tell you how many friends I demonstrated this set-up for.  I was actually considering adding a 2nd unit for my primary system.  Basically, I was all in.  Now I'm just stuck. 

That's my tale of woe, so here's what I'd like to know:
Were my expectations for this component too high?  I understand that computer products have can have a short lifespan, but this seems a bit extreme.  So should I pony up for another unit?  Or do I try to save up for something more upscale and presumably better built (or better supported)?  Cambridge Audio has a streamer I think might work, but I heard not all streamers can handle 30k+ files.  I have actually heard several really nice units like the Aurender (at AXPONA) but that's probably out of my league.  So what affordable alternatives are there, that also sound decent? 

This is my first post/discussion thread here on A-gon, so go easy on me : )
Thanks for listening. 

WoofMan74
woofman74

Showing 2 responses by zkidd

zkidd
105 posts
 
I have to chime in here as someone who has had a Rolls Royce. If my Rolls had an issue, the dealer and everyone would bend over backwards to get it fixed, give me a loaner, apologize all the time and never, ever told me I was out of luck. So, to compare the service of the Bluesounds to that of the Rolls (BMW actually) is not all that accurate. The better anlogy or story to tell is this: things are built to a price point. Ask any engineer. The Bluesound was built to that price point and once that is reached, it is either going to be good, or it will have a life determined by parts; less cost, lower quality parts, less life expectancy. There is a reason why high end products cost what they do. And another reason why I do not do digital / streaming.
Just my two cents...
zkidd
105 posts
 
I am behind on replying so my apologies. When I was referring to the Rolls and the service, I was not responding to the possibility of anything breaking but rather to the service provided by them if something does go wrong. I was under the impression that this thread was rather a two part piece; the part about fixing the Bluesound and another about the poor customer service of Bluesound. I was addressing the poor customer service the OP received. 
My apologies for getting things confused...
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