Just installed a bluesound node 2i , quality not so good

I use node 130 USB connected to a Marantz HD-DAC1 to stream Qobuz. I've tried on board DAC analog out to preamp and didn't like the results. As a wifi streamer it works flawlessly. 

I returned the Note BNode and ordered the Wiim Mini.  I thought for $100 I would give it a try.  And it now does 24bit/192kHz.  So far I think it is great.  I use the optical out to the DAC in my Hegel integrated and the sound quality is excellent.  It has all the features of the BNode I wanted and the iPad app is just as good.  

OP - My fried had the same product and said the same thing. He returned the BNode. He said it sounded better streaming into a separate DAC and using a different streamer. He ran it with SF Olympica speakers and Macintosh hybrid amp.  I never got a chance to listen myself to the Bnode.

I just use mine for steam and hook it up to a separate DAC. The analog outfits are not impressive even on the news Node. Get a good digital cable. If you are on a budget, Get a Mogami 2964 cable from Amazon, costs about $45. If you are well heeled, consider a Kimber D60. You can save a bundle with a half meter for about $250. I run my Node into a Schiit Gungnir and it is special. I love it. 

This thread is so subjective. A dude with an AVR is complaining about the quality of the node? Come on already. I teed up the node back to back with a Lumin in my home for the weekend, struggled to come up with a difference. Had audiophile/musician friends come and listen to confirm. The OS plays a huge factor also, Lumin was abhorrent.  

And why is this in the speaker forum?  

@emergingsoul -

Like listening to music filtered by a blanket. Node 2i needs a better dac.  So disastifying.  Avr’s with bluos handle music better.  Waste of money for me.

 

You have a $500 streamer/Dac. If you want something better, spend $3K on an Aurilac.

As the Thing of Fantastic Four fame said:

You pays your money.....

Bob

the nodes have been out there for quite a while, yet folks who claim to be audiophiles, come here and post, still lack an understanding of that the thing is...

Limited internal DAC. If you have good speakers and a transparent system, you'll hear the difference when comparing to a good external DAC plugged into the Node.  Also, threads galore on this topic on Agon and other sites as you search more. 

Another thumbs down for the Bluesound. Just tried it on my Hegel 160 (built in DAC) - tried the Bluesound both with the Bluesound DAC and the Hegel DAC and the built in Airplay in the Hegel (with the Hegel DAC) sounds much better (especially the mid range).  Surprised it was so noticeable.  Back it goes.

 

@pegazus ...Honestly one of cheap tube Bluetooth Dac from China sounded way better than this junk

 

Name it.  What cheap DAC from China sounded "way better"?

I just listed mine on eBay. Blue sound Node 2i sound quality is so terrible.

Got fooled by all the reviews. I ended up using a old marantz receiver as the Bluetooth option and used the preamp out.

Honestly one of cheap tube Bluetooth Dac from China sounded way better than this junk.

Their app is pretty useless too

AVR is really all I needed to hear…

I have a Vault 2i, its been great, although I have been using it with a DAC since day one.   Sounds good for the money.  I was a late adopter of digital files and streaming and it was perfect for me , and to archive my CDs.   I would definitely buy a Node for a second room

It’s fine as a streamer but probably benefits from a good external DAC. 

There are more than a few threads on multiple forums over the past three years about the Node2i and use of external DACs costing up to 2-3x the price of the Node2i and use of really good digi coax and output cables for the dac to preamps.  

+1 and agree with @jjss49 and others here.  Also, several friends who use the Node2i with some very nice external tube DACs and each compared the internal dac usage and RCA out vs. use of good external DACs instead, including non-oversampling R2R ladder dacs with great results. It makes a real difference.    

 

@geof3

i have been told by so many friends/hifi nerd buds that i gotta do roon... it’s funny, we all do silly, illogical things sometimes... i will blow five grand to try a new dac without batting an eye, same to try some hot-sh*t amp, but i just won’t shell out 6 or 7 hundred bucks for a lifetime roon sub out of principle LOL... it is just goofy (maybe i get one of my sons to buy it for me as xmas present 🤣🤣)

@mofojo

you can see my system page at your leisure

 

The new Node is a definite step up from the 2i. The analog outs are adequate for casual listing. Coax out, good DAC, whole different world. For what it is used for in my system, I see no need to upgrade. 
 

BTW jjss49… try Roon. It’s great! Love the overall info and interface. Mine is specifically used with my NAS. Bluesound OS for most other streaming.

Surprised you find the dac is less good than airplay to an avr. World class it’s not but it’s not horrible IME . A descent outboard would definitely make a different I believe. I can hear it for sure. Also a reclocker on the DAC makes a difference. I use a cheap IFI one and it makes a definite difference to my ear. 
 

Interesting to hear your take jjss49. I always wonder about the expensive streamer and whether it is worth it. Seems people have vastly different opinions. The Node probably has the best interface and compatible with the most services. I was thinking a Melco but if the SQ is not there paying much more for a less fleshed out interface does nothing make sense. What’s the rest of your setup? 
 

 

i personally feel the node 2i/node is a terrific product, you just have to know what it does well and what it does not - it has an outstanding user interface (i still haven’t broken down to go roon yet), and it is a very nice (and exceptionally high value) bitstreamer

knew early on the dac inside was a throwaway, so never bothered to use it, but its spdif digital outputs are very good, and i have found it very useful to have several nodes grouped using the software, and thus delivering multiple identical bitstreams, thus allowing very easy direct a-b-c comparisons of multiple dacs

i tried more expensive streamers from auralic, innuos, aurender, mytek (some had nice dacs onboard, which is part of one pays for, no doubt) and as bitstream sources, try as i might, i could not for hear any sq difference from the node... interestingly, i could actually hear some more (but still subtle) differences across various digital cables than the streamers... 🤷‍♂️

Another vote for not impressed. There are better products.

 

Happy Listening!

It's a nice $500 streamer which includes a built-in $50 DAC.   

Digi Coax and Optical outputs located on the rear for a reason.   

A Schiit Bifrost should be better than the Node 2i.

Or Okto Dac8 Stereo which also includes a streamer so you can sell the Node.

 

i am using a NAD D1050  sounds quite good, if anyone can recommend something better who know this please let me know

Node 2021 + SMSL 400 Dac = very good sound on the cheaper side too!

Like listening to music filtered by a blanket. Node 2i needs a better dac.  So disastifying.  Avr’s with bluos handle music better.  Waste of money for me.

folks buy the $500 node 2i think it is an end game thing

not

excellent streamer/ui with a training wheels dac aboard... is what it is...

I just installed my new Node 2i.

connected to Denon 3700h via supplied RCA cables.

very disappointed.

sounds heavy and bloated.

Qobuz via airplay to AVR is much cleaner.

Paul

+5, agree with others.

The COAX OUT on the back of the Node 2i is still there for a reason.

The designers provided a good streamer platform with a decent Burr Brown 24/192 DAC inside the 2i series, and it works well as-is for most.  However, if streaming is a must and you spent good money on amps and speakers, the option is there for those who want to pair it up with a higher grade external digital analog converter.  

Connect a great external DAC to the Node2i, paired to a good amplifier and speakers, and bring the sound to a new level. The benefit of this has been discussed ad nauseam on many forums, fwiw.

I agree with you hilde45, it is not horrible. I ran my Node,and then my Node 2 for a good 3 years or so with just the internal DAC. A couple of those was just with Spotify. When I moved into hi res streaming via Qobuz and Tidal,I was very pleased with the increase in sq.  I think for a lot of folks,the internal DAC is adequate. I still think it’s a great value for an all in one solution.

+1 @jjss49 
I went back and forth with my node from internal to external dac many, many times, on a variety of speakers. There is a difference that is unmistakable. That said, the internal dac isn't terrible and everyone has their own systems and tastes.

I'm not following how it addresses the scenarios where the hardwire connection to the router is not possible due to location logistics.

It does not.
In fact you now have two extra powered devices, the sender and the receiver for the fiber optic cable.
You still need to run the fiber optic cable so if you have problems running a hard internet line due to logistics this is not going to be any different.
However it should be better than wifi and possibly the hard internet line if you can run cable .

I guess I could as I ran a new cat7 75ft cable from my server upstairs down to a new unmanaged switch downstairs in my music room.
Could replace the internet cable run with fiber optic but I doubt I am going to try at this stage

Try connecting the Node2i with digital, toslink or coax instead of analog to the Marantz.

https://darko.audio/2018/08/ethernet-or-wifi-which-is-better-for-high-end-audio-streaming/

This article explains the process better than I’m able to do. There are many other articles also on the subject online. So to answer your question, yes this is a “hardwire” connection. I also have the issue of my router being in another room, and much to my wife’s chagrin, I have optic cable running across a hall and under a foyer rug. However this isn’t  the first time I’ve caused her distress with my audio hobby. I will eventually pull cable up into the attic and down inside the wall to my rig, but I live in Florida and I’ll be damned if I’m doing that in late August/September. So as best as I understand, the advantages of the bridge are as follows:  one being a much faster data transfer than WiFi, two it galvanically isolates the connection, and lastly eliminated RF/noise from long runs of Ethernet cable .

superstoked, does this "tweak" still require a "hardwire" connection to the router using the fiber optic cable instead? I'm not following how it addresses the scenarios where the hardwire connection to the router is not possible due to location logistics.   

Pretty funny what goes around...lol
Back in the 90,s we were using fiber optic comms for industrial usage, I liked it a lot as no noise, the "wiring" could be routed anywhere even 360 degree loops etc with zero issues.
The programmers say it did not allow enough heavy duty information exchange as Profibus and then later Profinet so we ditched it and moved on.
Canbus that you now find in cars( for a few years actually) was basically Profibus that we started with in the late 90,s, early 00,s . Profinet is really just a variation of ethernet.

Now it is showing up as the latest audio "darling"

Pretty interesting tbh.
Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3K4U5E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AVRLZI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (you’ll need two)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S3SZ1GM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also a nice article about the fiber optic bridge here:

https://andreweverard.com/2015/06/08/high-resolution-audio-now-with-added-fibre/

@superstoked,
Can you provide a link to the equipment?
B

presently searching for a higher quality dac.  So many to chose from, kinda like all the ice cream choices.  If I can find a chocolate Chip cookie dough dac I’ll be happy

Ha,  man after my own heart, or stomach...lol
Watch the Key Lime pie variety though!

Dang it! Just checked my amazon history when I bought the fiber optic bridging gear. Prices have dropped by about half! Anybody streaming should do this tweak, you have no excuse now! Dramatically improves sound. Oh and I did get cat 8 Ethernet cable. 

Thorens td 125 (Hana eh)
vincent SA-T7
bluesound node 2i 
music hall dac/cd
bob latino st-120
bob crites cornscala speakers

ive had the node 2i for about 8 months now, and at first I wasn’t really impressed. I mean it sounded ok, but didn’t have the magic. But here’s the thing, (you know the thing! Lol) I was streaming over the WiFi. I learned about the fiber optic bridging people were doing and thought I’d give it a try. A reasonable tweek under $200. Well it was night and day, huge improvement! I think I bought cat 8 cable but I can’t remember.

Thanks.
rocray, like the diversity of sound settings. Don’t have these but do use auto direct so I can include the sub for stereo.

presently searching for a higher quality dac.  So many to chose from, kinda like all the ice cream choices.  If I can find a chocolate Chip cookie dough dac I’ll be happy. 

@OP, 
As listed earlier, an Ayre Codex, now running under $1K used.
Or, a Schiit Gungnir Multibit used- for a little less used, should provide you with enhanced sound quality.
As far as the Mac DAC, I would keep searching. Though it would probably be an improvement, I think you could do better.
My 2 cents....
Bob

emergingsoul, what eq are you using with your Marantz? Direct? I’m not very familiar with Marantz AV receivers. On my Onkyo, I have various eq settings. IE; Orchestra,Acoustic,Theater,Direct. On the rare occasion I listen to stereo,I use 2ch Direct for best SQ. I hope I explained this right. 

Would a used McIntosh d150 dac be a good choice to go with the bluesound 2i?

I am being held hostage by my speakers holding out until they reach their full potential.  Captivity is challenging, expensive, and frustrating due to a lack of clarity in the marketplace relating to a vast maze of complex components.  This forum has proven to be of great value.

I have I have bluesound wired to avr now, can I bypass avr and direct wire to amp? Can amp have two sources of input? Not sure it would be smart to do this?

+1rocray!
I  was wondering who was holding the gun to whose head to "make" them use a DAC.
Op asked and was given opinions, nothing more.