Just got a new Bluesound Node. Very disappointed!

I’ve tried different interconnects - sound is a weee bit better, I’ve also switched between toslink and coax digital outs. No difference.

weirdly enough if I airplay to the BN the highs are dialed down but you lose resolution.

it’s almost like there’s a slight metallic sheen to the music. 

I checked the eq buts it’s off. Tried it but the must lost dynamics. 
 

So where did my thinking go wrong with this thing. I always assumed to use it as a transport for the digital signal from the BNS and never use it’s internal DAC. So as long as the data file is “true” shouldn’t the SQ be determined by my outboard DAC?

I don’t know if I agree with the digital being rolled off. What I mean is the song is the song (the digital data), from a digital standpoint unless it get modified in the digital realm, the reproduction of the song (analog section) however can obviously make a difference. I guess it’s analogous to tv, the digital rendition of Star Wars is the what it is, but your DVR (pick your poison here) ultimately determines the quality of the picture along with the TV.

Which means to say l’ve been using my DAC on other CD transports; cheap and expensive with literally very little difference in sound quality and with certainly no rolling off frequencies

I mean, every CD player specifications I’ve ever seen has a frequency response that’s flat from like 2 Hz to 20,000 Hz plus or +/-1 dB.  

Thanks for the responses I’ll respond to a few questions

i did turn off the clock. Didn’t make any difference 

i use the coax and toslik out to evaluate. The coax is a good hi-end cable. 

I have not tried going straight from the BSN rca out to the preamp. 
 

this system used an ARC Classic 60 tube amp, Herron 1a/166 preamp, and the NAD M51 DAC. Speaker cables are PAD, and cabling is all over the place now, but is currently Cardas Clear light. 

That is my setting as well

Liza,

Ive been over all my connections several times not to mention all the settings. I think people here may be right when they say there is something wrong with it. 

Jetter,

I extensively played with the tone controls but felt “off” sounded best

So time for an update. 

in short I’ve gotten the sound right  

First off my settings have always been set correctly from the beginning, so let’s take off the table. 
 

Secondly, the brightness calmed down about 30% +/-  with leaving the unit on form a few day, noticeably so.  

Thirdly, I did the whole cable dance thing and that went a good way to helping get the right timber and tone, and I was able to eliminate the metallic sheen from songs I know to not have it. 

Fourthly, this system has Thiel CS2.4 for speakers, which if you know are VERY reveling to upstream equipment. Rewarding if done right, brutal if not. The speakers were set up, when I put the BSN, for my analog system which had toe in about 10 degrees which provided great sound - for the TT set up. My system is in a relatively small room, with room treatment, but small nonetheless, thus I had settled for some toe in. However, it dawned on me that Thiel’s advise is actually little to no toe in, so I rearranged the speaker toe to zero and bam, sound came together - on certain songs. 

What I’ve noticed is that with certain music the sound is great, but like any other media the recording dictates the quality the most and some 80’s and 90’s digital music is just VERY bad, and this system just reveals it bare.