new to streaming- help!


Hi all-

I'm a long time audiophile but have always gone the cd/vinyl route.  I am trying streaming but having trouble setting up a Bluesound Node X.  Something about my wifi it doesn't like...I am enjoying Tidal on my Macbook, however.  Which brings me to a question.  Would I get better sound quality anyway if I just connected my laptop to an external dac?  Should I scrap the Blue Sound?  And if go that route, does it matter if I have my laptop connected to ethernet, or will sound quality be the same on either ethernet or wifi?  (Asssuming a cable from MAC to DAC...).

Alternatively, would it make sense to run Tidal from Ipad to DAC? Or does one need  a streamer like Blue sound to do that?

I'm sure this will get sorted out, but feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment.

Thanks!

Margot

mcanaday

@soix +1

This was my experience as well, though I just upgraded my streamer from a Sonos Connect rather than a PC. Night and day difference.

@yage nailed it... 

The OP said: "This is in a college dorm rather than private home."

Which @yage diagnosed: "Are you trying to connect the Node to the campus wi-fi / local network? If so, the university IT staff may be blocking certain networking ports for security reasons. This may be what’s keeping your iPhone / MacBook from communicating with the Node.

@mcanaday CAN connect via BT which is a direct connection to the Node. Via wi-fi however, his control devices (iPhone, etc.) have to locate the node on the network. There's every likelihood that will be impossible on the university's wi-fi without their assistance. As it's rather doubtful he has physical access to the network, so suggesting that he "run a cable from the router" is no help in this case.

There is one other thing you might try. I take it you can connect your iPhone to the university's wifi? If so, make note of the SSD (aka "name") of the network it's connected to. My guess is there are several available to try and spread out network traffic. Then via a BT connection to the Node, go to the BlueOS setup to see if it's connecting to the same SSD. If not, it's likely that's your problem. I have two SSDs at home and sometimes if my phone is connected to the one my Node2i is not connected to I have to swap networks. Good luck!

Happy listening.

Shoot an email to the university IT department about what you're trying to do. They might have some answers. If you can stream Tidal on your Mac you should be able to get it to work on your Node X, which is an excellent choice, btw. The BluOS app is great. (I use a Node in the living room.)

In the meantime, using bluetooth to connect to the X works. If it's a dorm room, I'm betting you don't have Focal Utopias, and maybe bluetooth will be fine for now. Or before you buy anything else, you could use the X as an external dac if you want to try that.
Good luck! Enjoy the music. And thanks again, Margot!

(I really don't think switching to Qobuz will solve anything.)

I really don't think switching to Qobuz will solve anything.

She doesn’t have to deal with Tidal anymore, so it at least solves that.

Hi all!  I have now communicated with University IT.  I do not have a live ethernet connection and there likely is an issue with WI FI.  I can resolve it, I think.  I need to register for a different WI FI --with the Mac ID that is on the bottom of the Node X.  Hopefully when I do that, I can get my phone (or mac) to recognize the player so I can go ahead and install Bluos and be on my way.

I'm on Fall Break and away now so won't know for a week if I am operational, but will report back.

One other question for those who do like Tidal--If I am not connecting the Node X into external DAC, will I notice a difference between cd quality level and the premium (hi res) membership?  I went with the less expensive for now, but wonder what others think?  Would this only be worth it with external DAC?

Many thanks to all of you!

Margot