BluSound Node and Node 2


The purpose of this post is to make everyone aware and think twice before buying BluSound Node / Node 2.

Blusound's customer service is the worst I have ever experienced. As far as sound goes it's decent for the price. Are there better-sounding streaming dacs? Absolutely. I'd spend extra 300 / 400 dollars and get something more reliable vs wasting $549. 

Issue::

Six months after buying my 1st node it failed. It would play songs from the middle and only for 30 seconds and then skip to a random song regardless of what service I used. There are numerous blogs that talk about this same exact problem. It happens if you are streaming locally from your NAS or directly from quboz or deezer. You guys can google this issue. 

 

After several failed attempts with customer service, I sold the device for $75 and bought node 2. I was told by blusound that they have fixed the bugs in node 2 and it sounds way better.

Well there is no difference in sound between node 1 and node 2 and my node 2 failed within 3 months of purchase. After 2 weeks worth of back and forth with blusound tech support and 20 emails from them telling me to reboot / reindex / factory reset my device I was told today that they will take a look at the logs and get back to me. 

Its possible that blusound node owners have owned their devices for years without any problems but it looks like songs skipping and starting from the middle and stopping randomly is a well know issue with the device. 

My suggestion is to look at other brands, spend a little more in order to avoid wasting your $549. 

Im thinking of either getting a used Lumin d2 or the simaudio 280d. 

 

my system:

Simaudio 340i with builtin dac [2019]

Dynaudio C20

2x REL T9is

 

danimaz

Agree with moonwatcher, I was never able to get the ifi zen streamer to connect to my android phone via wifi. Horribly frustrating. Back she went. Love the NODE more and more everyday.

My neighbor had to replace her refrigerator. It had lasted nearly 30 years. The place she was buying a new one from was honest and told her, "Well, don't expect this one to last THAT long" - LOL. 

So here we are 30 years removed from 1992 with far better manufacturing techniques, materials, computer aided engineering, and yet, the stuff being made doesn't last. Oh well. 

I haven’t read the entire post, so my thoughts might already have been touched on, but my history with Bluesound is that it performs best when hardwired and it is also dependent on a very strong signal since you’re streaming lossless.  I have almost 1mbps internet speed and have no troubles.  Before I upgraded my internet signal, I too had drops due to buffering.  I recommend you run through a separate DAC for best performance (I use a Chord Qutest).  I a/b’d the Bluesound streamer with an Aurender a couple of years ago through the same DAC and could detect no different in sound quality (even though I really wanted to).  The streaming of high resolution files is challenging for any setup since you are dependent on a strong signal coming in.  Good luck!

I went from Chromecast to a Node 2 with hardwire connection from modem and I’ve been very satisfied. Never had any issues with dropouts or anything for that matter, Understood that the dac could be better, so opted for a Bifrost. Eventually upgraded the Bifrost to a Yggdrasil GS, and have been vert happy. Its been my main source for my Rogue 99 and M120 monoblocks with Totem Forests in a treated dedicated room. I have been wondering if a Lumin or other streamer might offer a better digital signal or are all the signals in that form the same?

I had a very poor experience with mine and returned it for a full refund. It was not reliable, had to be defaulted and then the app wouldn't be able to find it. I would have to run through the setup process again for no apparent reason. It was hardwired. I have a tube amp with very revealing Klipsch Cornwall IV speakers, and at lower volume it would sound just fine. But good luck trying to get loud. Everything just fell apart. It was a terrible match for my system besides being unreliable. The fact that power supply upgrade kits are sold for it told me all that I needed to know. At that point, you have spent 1k so why not get something better?

I ended up buying a wonderful unit from Cary Audio, when bundled with their amp I got a big discount and the results are stunning. Totally transformed my system. The best money that I have spent.

I'm amazed when I see posts where people have systems much more expensive than mine and this thing is part of the chain. IMHO, this thing has no business in the chain of a truly HiFi system. And I like Bluesound- I think they sound much better than Sonos. But not as a source for really expensive HiFi gear.