Newbie question about Vault 2i

I decided on Qobuz. The Hi Rez files really do sound amazing

I am doing a trial of Qobuz now. Sounds great, sometimes amazing depending on the recording. Will have to do A/B tests with Tidal to determine which streaming service I go with

Galleybob, Glad to hear your getting good sound. You have to have an MQA enabled device to stream MQA files. IMO some MQA albums do sound fantastic!

I am original poster. I want to thank everyone who took the time to educate me on streaming and Bluesound. I knowledge level on streaming was zero when I started to look into Bluesound.
I have a Bluesound Node 2i. I took the advice and decided that my Apple Superdrive was good enough and that I did not need the Vault 2i.
I bought a Buffalo Network drive that was surprisingly very inexpensive. It took awhile for me to figure how how to set it up but once I did it I found it to be a great way to store and stream my CD's. Instead of using Apple Music to do the conversions I now use dbpoweramp which converts to Flac.
I thought the best way to connect Node2i was analog with the provided RCA cables. A few days ago I bought an optical cable so now I am using the DAC from my 1120 Anthem. Sound now is amazing. I stream Tidal and my CD's. Not sure if the Anthem has the ability to process the Tidal MSQ files or not, but they sound great so I'm not sure. My next step is to do a trial of Qobuz and see how it compares to Tidal

@2psyop you understood my question. Thanks for the response. After comparing my CD conversions to Tidal, I realized that I have been wasting my time. Tidal MQA files sound better so I am going to stop converting my CD’s. My brother was going to give me his collection but I don’t see the point now. Thanks

Galleybob
Not sure I understand what you are asking but I do not think the Vault 2i would do a better job of ripping your CDs than your Superdrive did creating AIFF files. The files should sound the same because they are lossless conversions of the CD. I have found that MQA albums sound AS GOOD or BETTER than my CDs or AIFF ripped files. Most of the time MQA sounds BETTER but it depends on the album or title and how well it was recorded. The one advantage of the Vault 2i would be how it handles album metatdata. I had to search for album artwork to redo many file folders when using the Node 2. I had to do that because the Node 2 could not find the artwork for the albums created by Itunes. Itunes is very poor when getting album artwork. I don’t think the Vault2i has that problem when ripping CDs.

Not sure I understand the question in the last post...

I bought the Node 2i and set have it hooked to my receiver via analog. I am listening to Tidal MQA files. I have also set up a Network HD for my AIFF files which I converted with my Apple Superdrive. The files sound pretty good for sure but I think Tidal MQA is better. Would the Vault 2i do a better job in converting my CD's and would my CD files sound more like Tidal MQA. Thanks

Thanks that sounds right

@galleybob - If your AIFF files are on a system that is attached to the same network as the Node2i, the Node should find them. I don't own one, but I own another streamer and that is how it works. It will catalog every audio file it finds on the network.

Hopefully a Node 2/2i owner will chime in and validate my assumption.

I was all set for Vault 2 but after considering all the money I will be spending on Home Theater I think I will just spend $500 on Node 2i. My reasoning is that I can live with the conversions of my CD's to AIFF that I have done. Unless I am missing something I don't see why I need HD of Vault as I won't be purchasing music. I think for streaming Qobuz, the Node2i will be fine. I may be wrong on this. I know Tim said I have to store music somewhere but my nephew who uses Tidal said streaming is not a problem and he does not store the music on HD. As far as my converted Aiff files they are now in my iTunes folder. Wouldn't the Node 2i be able to access this.
I don't have any plan as of now of adding Roon. Thanks

I concur with the above.
I have just added Qobuz via the Vault2.  My understanding is that if a download is purchased, then you actually own it, so if you have concerns about losing albums if you discontinue service—or if the label in question severs their tie with Qobuz—that is your option.
Regarding Roon, I would definitely just get familiar with the BluOS app first.  Roon requires a lot of computing power to run, particularly for large collections.  My MacAir couldn’t handle it and crashed repeatedly during the trial.  You may want to ask others how well Roon operates on a Vault before you do a free trial.
Regarding which DAC to use—the AVR, or the Vault2–it depends on your gear.  The DAC in the Vault2 is ok, and will play MQA via Tidal, if that is important, but isn’t the last word in refinement.  If you have a better DAC in your AVR then go that route.  You should be able to do both—connect to your AVR with analog and digital cables—and then easily flip back and forth using the AVR remote and compare

Thanks, that was a great explanation. I will be buying Vault 2. Thanks again

Bob,  Here are my suggestions/ recommendations:

Any music you either rip from CDs or move to the Vault via your network will be stored on the Vault's 2TB hard drive.

You can load the controlling app (BluOS) on any Apple, Android, or Microsoft device.

I don't stream, so I cannot comment on Roon.  The BluOS app is good but is far from perfect.

When ripping CDs, music will be converted to both FLAC and MP3.  The MP3 files will eventually be deleted unless you tell the Vault to keep both.  FLAC is "higher quality" but will take up more room on the drive.

If you have a high-end receiver with a very good DAC, use a digital cable (Digital Coax or Toslink) to connect to your Receiver.  If not, just utilize the bulit-in DAC on the Vault and use RCA.

Regardless of whether or not you rip CDs, you have to store your music somewhere.  If you don't need the Vault to store your music and are storing it elsewhere on your network, you can just buy the Node instead.

Hope this helps.
-Tim