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New Bluesound Node – First Impressions

I'm new to streaming. To get started, I ordered the new Bluesound Node, the just-released successor to the Node2i. It arrived Friday. System: Sonus faber Olympica III speakers, McIntosh MC402 power amp, Magnum Dynalab MD208 used as a preamp, Denon DCD-1600NE SACD/CD player, and various cables, mostly Audioquest. I offer my first impressions, FWIW. I don't claim any particular expertise.

I connected the Node to the pre via Audioquest interconnects. It doesn't accept my aftermarket power cords. Used wireless, not ethernet. I have free trial subscriptions to Amazon Music and Qobuz.

First, Amazon Music. Tried some Beethoven, and some Rameau, with poor results. Compressed, tinny, and unlistenable. 10 minutes of Amazon HD was more than enough.

Next, Qobuz. Brahms, Schumann, Led Zep, Bowie. A very substantial improvement on Amazon HD. Notably, on the same tracks, the Qobuz high-rez sounded significantly better than the Qobuz CD-quality. Differences were immediately apparent on Led Zep's Dazed and Confused, available in both formats.

But the Qobuz high-rez can't compare with CD quality sound on my system as currently configured. On the same recordings, CD quality is clearly superior to Qobuz high-rez played through the Node. Detail, presence, dimensionality – there's no contest.

As a means to explore music to purchase on CD, the Node, playing Qobuz, may or may not suffice. As a substitute for CDs, I very much doubt it will do.

Let me re-emphasize that these are only my first impressions. I don't know how the Node will sound after further break-in, or with an ethernet connection, or with an external DAC, or with different interconnects/preamps/amps/speakers, or with other streaming services. I hope this post is helpful to other forum members considering this or similar equipment.


gg107

Showing 1 response by danabunner

danabunner
12 posts
 
The Bluesound Node 2i used a Texas Instruments PCM5122 DAC chip.  This is several years old and quite inexpensive, I believe sold in quantities at around $3 each.  It is the same DAC chip as found on the Raspberry Pi iQAudio DAC+ board, which sells for $20 chip, board & all.
The new Node 2 uses the Texas Instruments PCM5242 DAC chip, which is a small upgrade from the PCM5122.  This is the DAC chip as found on the iQAudio DAC Pro board, which sells for $25 chip, board & all.  Heck, at $25 it even includes a headphone output. 

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/17739

These are considered to be very low-end DAC chips.  Equivalent to what one might find in a $75-$150 external DAC.
The analog output stage of the Node 2i and new Node are also of mediocre quality.  So when one connects a Node to their system via the RCA analog outputs, you are listening to a low end DAC being played through a low end analog stage.  The provided power supply is also a budget solution. 

The strength of the Bluesound Node is that it handles 24-bit streaming, provides MQA support, has a very good user interface, is reliable, and is backed by a solid company. It has 24-bit digital output and now has a decent processor. 

It is too bad that in this latest upgrade that they still went quite low-end in key areas.   Clearly they wanted to stay at the $549 price point. 
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