Thanks ghdprentice and others, you are absolutely correct, the Aurender N10 is a big improvement over the Bluesound Node. Finally installed the N10 last night and the improvement in SQ is immediately very noticeable; clearer/sharper sound and very dynamic. My wife also immediately noticed the difference. Now I need to get used to using the Aurender Conductor app, by comparison the Bluesound Node app was very easy to use.
Streamer Upgrade Bluesound Node To Aurender N10
Just got into streaming via a Bluesound Node running Tidal and Qobuz, streaming from an iPad Air via wifi. Very impressed by the simplicity, convenience, incredible choice of music and sound quality. My question is; if I replace the Bluesound Node with an Aurender N10 will there be a noticeable difference in SQ?
Rest of the system is a McIntosh C52 pre amp, MC312 power amp and Magico A5 speakers. I feed the digital optical output from the Bluesound Node to the C52. A/D conversion is done in the C52. If I do upgrade to the Aurender N10, what is the best way to connect the system together? A/D in the Aurender N10 or C52, type of cable connection between the two units etc?
- ...
- 49 posts total
Is your Node the Node 130? Do you prefer more analytic sound? I don't find live music to be "sharp" sounding. That may explain my preference for the R2R DAC I have now (Denafrips Ares II)--it has the smoothness that I hear in live music, and I don't think it lacks natural detail. It helps that my electronics and speakers are very transparent, so I don't need any extra detail from a source. I'll be interested to hear your impressions of the Aurender app after you've gotten used to it. One thing I appreciate about the BluOS app is it seems to provide more info on albums streamed via Qobuz or Tidal than those separate streaming apps do. Tidal especially often lacks info on more obscure or older albums. Does the Conductor app allow you to fast forward/rewind in the middle of a song like the BluOS app does? |
we would recommend looking at a 432 evo for a number of reasons
one we easily better a node:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/upgraded-from-node-to-432-evo-aeon-music-server-and-its-another-world-s#:~:text=I%20recently%20upgraded%20from%20a,background%2C%20bass%20articulation%20and%20impact.
second we are very well received by the press: We better the aurender n20 there is a post here of a n20 user who brought over his n20band preferred the 432evo.
we did a shoot out against a $25k Innous statement and the Aeon sounded just as good.
We are modular and upgradable. platform we allow upgrading from model to model and can be improved when new parts become available..
2023 Editors’ Choice: Best Music Servers Under $10,000 - The Absolute Sound
Dave and Troy audio Intellect NJ US importers 432evo Music servers |
I have the latest Bluesound Node, I run an Ethernet cable direct to it and use it as a streamer only, via coax into my dac. I am hard pressed to find much difference between streaming vs the same music off the actual CD. It’s like six of one, half dozen of the other, sometimes I think the CD is a touch better, other times the streamed version, depending on the music. I have been wondering as a streamer only, how much difference there would actually be between the $700 Node and a $7000 streamer like an Aurender for example. If the streamed signal is already very close to the actual CD, is spending that much more money going to be actually better than the CD? To me this seems impossible. If it is better, how much better can it possibly be considered the cost of the upgrade? To me it would make more sense to invest the money in other parts of the system like speakers for example. I know the Node is not considered high end but the question still remains how much better can it get spending that much on a streamer only? |
- 49 posts total