“I’’m confident the technology will improve as time passes and your issue will be overcome.”
Streaming technology is already matured. It just a matter of making sure your Ethernet connectivity is up to snuff. As I pointed out in my earlier post, I have been enjoying streaming over 5 years without any fuss.
I own Bluesound Vault 2 and it’s a plug n play device and they provide great customer support to anyone who is not tech savvy. Having proper ethernet connectivity is part of the streaming process. Currently, proper connectivity is not assured. The technology fails sporadically. For example, I have dropouts streaming TV content from Spectrum. There is a fault in the system and the fault is not in my house. I choose not to rely on such a system for my music enjoyment -- I do not stream music. I believe these issues will be resolved in time, just like my Windows software doesn’t crash like it used to. |
@andrewkelley no, I am just using the DAC in the Node right now. Eventually I plan on adding a DAC
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Any chance your using an external DAC ? |
OK, so tonight I listed for a little over 2 hours and everything was perfect and resulted in a great listening session. Working from home right now has its privileges. Spent my whole lunch hour on the phone with both Xfinity and Asus. First Xfinity ran some test and did see some errors. I ran a speed test as well as Xfinity asked me to run one while on the phone. It was 212 mbps. At night both my wife and daughter may be streaming Netflix, and they both were last night when I had issues. Xfinity suggested for like $12 more month I could up the speed to 400 so I did, thats pennies a day. Asus helped me with some QOS settings to maximize priority to the Node. Ran a new speed test and now we are at 400 mbps. So tonight I was listening to Qobuz on the Node 2i via Ethernet with the CD player on standby, both my wife and daughter were watching netflix and I had no issues. Tonight was one of the most enjoyable sessions, listening to a couple new artist, everything sounded clear, detailed and wide open.
I am not sure exactly why type of line we have from Xfinity. We are in the country, rural area, our area is new construction, less than 8 years, homes are all on like 2 acres so its not congested, but I don't know how much that effects things. |
Everybody here is guessing what could be wrong, why not look at your network stats to see if you have any issues. Also, you can call your network provider to have them run a trace to your house to see if they see any errors. When you say you have 200Mb speeds, is that what you are paying for or are you doing a network speed test? 2 different things.
Is your internet connection copper, wireless, or fiber? If it’s copper, you could be running into issues after work hours because more people are fighting for that bandwidth, same for wireless. Fiber is the way to go if you want the most reliable, noise free connection possible. |
It certainly could be a setting issue I’ve never experienced with my Node2. It sounds like it certainly could be your bandwidth. I’ve never had an issue streaming even the highest bit level MQA over WiFi with my Node2. Particularly HD, or even worse 4K, video streaming takes a huge amount of bandwidth. I would either prioritize traffic on your router or up your bandwidth package. In the meantime, you could test their theory and mine and take advantage of Tidal or Spotify offline mode so the songs are directly on your iPhone or laptop’s local storage, for instance. Just make sure you change the settings to the highest audio quality level that you can accommodate with the storage available on your device. I use this mode pretty often, particularly on road trips, where I know the data download bandwidth is going to be spotty at best. If you still have issues with particular songs this will eliminate your bandwidth as the culprit. |
Fixed or Variable volume selected on your Node2i? (be sure it's Fixed). I know it sounds dumb to check... but just check. jcder and Mapman are on point. SQ won't really vary if things are working. They will just stutter and cut. (been there, done that, swapped my DNS pointers to Google's DNS direct (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
You sound like you've got a signal path issue. Would almost wager on your low voltage side... |
I agree with Mapman. Wifi problems shouldn’t be causing distortion.
When I experience internet/wifi problems, the signal simply cuts out.
I hope you held on to your old router and modem. Swap in each of the older components, one at a time, so see if the problem can be isolated to either your new router or your new modem.
Then, if possible, swap out each of the other components in the signal path, one at a time. ( I realize that swapping out the DAC might be tough, as most people don’t have more than one DAC lying around. If necessary, you could pipe an analogue signal directly from your streamer / computer to your pre-amp. )
If your problem isn’t caused by a bad signal coming in from the ISP, you’ll find the problem this way. Stick to streaming. It’s definitely worthy it ! |
Most of the hi end sites avoid wi fi for the best results, but offer it as a feature. Suggest going hard wire. If it still distorts, there is something else wrong. |
Qobuz will let you download (import) whatever you want. Try that.
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Network bandwidth issues usually result in delays while playing. Never heard it cause distortion. Been streaming happily for years now. WiFi can be obstructed by objects in the signal path and of course weak signal can cause issues. Laptop should tell you how strong WiFi signal is at a particular location. Try moving things a bit if possible and see if signal strength changes. In any case never heard of weak WiFi resulting in distortion. Should be all or nothing. Always possible lights, microwave oven, etc impacts WiFi signal but again never experienced distortion as a result.
Make sure source devices are delivering proper line levels. Any volume control on play? Try a different non streaming source device as a test maybe or try a different input on preamp if available. |
Though I understand the point of having either discs or LP's, streaming music is so much more convenient, and the library nearly unlimited.
@hgeifman makes great points.
My Verizon Fios service had issues for more than a year. Luckily, a good tech realized that it was something at the main terminal-They replaced just about everything inside my home, as well as on the street.
Streaming music is still pretty new, so things are going to happen that unfortunately will take time/patience to rectify.
Despite this, I believe it will become as good or even better than discs or LP's.
Bob |
jmphotography OP
When digital streamers have an issue with signal, what would be the result in sound? I would not think it would sound like distortion or a slightly out of tune radio station. That’s exactly what it sounded like to me. I keep thinking now it may be my old amp failing. Put your CD player back on the system and see if that’s still the case Cheers George |
jmphotography ... When digital streamers have an issue with signal, what would be the result in sound? ... Dropouts.
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Thanks everyone. My big question is this: When digital streamers have an issue with signal, what would be the result in sound? I would not think it would sound like distortion or a slightly out of tune radio station. I keep thinking now it may be my old amp failing. My router is brand new and one the fastest that Asus makes as well as my Motorola cable modem.
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“I’’m confident the technology will improve as time passes and your issue will be overcome.”
Streaming technology is already matured. It just a matter of making sure your Ethernet connectivity is up to snuff. As I pointed out in my earlier post, I have been enjoying streaming over 5 years without any fuss.
I own Bluesound Vault 2 and it’s a plug n play device and they provide great customer support to anyone who is not tech savvy. |
Sounds like the ReBoot fix isolated the problem ... Blu OS being fussy. |
I''m confident the technology will improve as time passes and your issue will be overcome.
In the mean time, appreciate the convenience of streaming and enjoy the music.
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Excellent sound quality that is available from Qobuz and Tidal REQUIRES all components to be working 100%. This includes the streamer, hard drives, modem, router, switch box, Internet signal strength, all other Internet components, DAC, external ISP amplifiers, cables and everything else. Unfortunately, if some of these components are not working correctly, you are going to get poor streaming results, distortion and poor sound quality.
Any streaming service (Tidal, QoBuz, etc.) requires a fully operational network. This means your modem, router, Internet cable signal being in range and all other related parts must be working correctly.
At the beginning, I had serious router issues and several Internet Service Provider (ISP) issues requiring several house calls to repair. My first router dropped packets and my 2nd router could not handle the streaming load. My third router, Luxul XWR3100 and XAP1510 KIT, is now working fine.
As was noted above, streaming issues concerning instability, distortion or sound poor quality, usually mean something is wrong with your network. My ISP Tech updated my in-house cables and corrected the wiring in my outside junction box.
Yes, I had instability and distortion issues caused by a corroded outside ISP junction box and issues with an ISP down-stream amplifier. My cable signal strength ALSO needed adjusting (this issue caused most of my instability and poor sound quality issues).
Streaming requires these parts to be OPERATING at full capacity. If you have instability issues, I suggest you investigate all the areas mentioned above. No, it is not easy and requires a cooperative ISP Tech to help identify and correct these issues. You should also confirm your modem can handle the streaming load. If it is old, you might need to replace it.
Once your network is correctly operating, you should be able to successfully stream these services. Unfortunately, I had all the above issues and it took me several weeks to get everything corrected. I am now streaming Tidal and Qobuz perfectly with no drop outs or related cable signal issues. Sound quality is excellent.
It is not easy getting all these parts working. You have to have patience and contact your ISP for assistance, when needed. I fully explained my streaming instability issues were impacting my listening to my music and the ISP Tech knew exactly what was needed. I suggest you start with your router first and then your cable company. As I stated above, every single part in the streaming chain needs to be confirmed it is working correctly. My Qobuz sound quality is now excellent and I enjoying their hi-res albums very much. Streaming and poor sound quality issues need to have the above mentioned components checked AND, if needed, an email to Qobuz for additional assistance. Musical streaming is complicated because of the many moving parts that need to be working. Sometimes it is not plug and play and requires additional research and efforts to get everything work. Please do not give up. I hope the above helps. |
As djones51 pointed out, try setting high priority to the streamer in your router. In five plus years, I did not experienced a single glitch while streaming through Tidal or Qobuz.
You already know the advantages of streaming, please don’t be a caveman like georgehifi and roberjerman....lol!
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jmphotography ... is my 230 mbps fast enough for audio and
both video if my wife or daughter are watching Netflix at the same time ... Yes, easily.
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Thanks everyone. Yes, I know good old fashioned CD's are the way to go and no I did not get rid of them. I don't want to give up on streaming yet as I was really enjoying it, it sounded better than CD in some cases and I enjoy finding new artist. So is my 230 mbps fast enough for audio and both video if my wife or daughter are watching Netflix at the same time? I can increase that to a 600 mbps package for not that much more with my ISP.
@mgrif104 That is my next step, I was actually thinking about that lying in bed last night because my Classe Amp and Preamp are nearing 20 years old. |
You could try setting priority to the streamer in the router. It might be giving priority to the video streaming which could bottleneck the Node2i. You obviously don’t have kids. |
Streaming music, even high res files, doesn’t really require that much bandwidth - nothing near streaming video. And, you’ve got pretty good speed, so I’m skeptical that’s where your problem is. Are you sure it’s actually in your digital stream? When you’re getting the noise, have you switched to other sources to see if it’s present? A cap going on some of your solid state gear, a loose wire, or a cable going bad would all make that type of noise. Or, it could be something going on with your streaming as you suspect. But, don’t give up on streaming just yet until you know.
My $.02 |
Roberjerman,
Thank you... +1 for good old fashioned physical media (LPs, CDs and DVDs).
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You could try setting priority to the streamer in the router. It might be giving priority to the video streaming which could bottleneck the Node2i. |
jmphotography
Hope you didn't get rid of all your CD's. Too many friends of mine did, and now they have given up on being audiophiles and use streaming simply as a convenience factor now. Some have gotten into HT instead. They don't even sit down in the sweet spot anymore for the best imaging it's more for background music. Cheers George |
Ethernet does not operate in real time. It transmits data in packets, but it is not music since timing is not attached to it. The only way Ethernet (or USB) can change the sound is by injecting electrical noise (by physical connection). |
You are at the mercy of problems down the Internet pipeline! Said problems are out of your control! That is why I prefer good old fashioned physical media (LPs, CDs and DVDs). |
