Bluesound Node (2021) PS upgrade to Teddy Pardo; is it worth it?


Hi guys, 

I was toying with upgrading my Bluesound Node (2021) power supply with the Teddy Pardo upgrade kit; around £400 with shipping to UK.

I was wondering if anyone here has done this, and was there a significant improvement to SQ?

I don't use the DAC in my Node, I use a Denafrips Ares II; with this in mind, would the TP upgrade be worth the money, or would I be better off putting the money aside and going for an upgrade to the Node further down the line i.e. a dedicated, stand alone streamer?

Thanks very much
128x128painter24

I just ordered a Teddy Pardo Dual 5V lps for my Node (2021) and my Chord Qutest DAC.  I will report back on the results.

I have a Teddy Pardo PS and I ordered a Node X at the same time. I would say it made a difference in noise floor and overall dynamics. I have a Node 2 that I run with PD Creative PS (as mentioned earlier in this thread). I have them going into a Bifrost 2 DAC and Denafrips Pontus 12 Anniversary DAC. The most noticeable change is the stock DAC in the Node X compared to the Node 2. It’s really much better and the Node X is a really great buy on its own, at its budget price point. IMHO.

I did the LHY full power supply upgrade kit, $275.  LPS and board.  The PS has a nice led display of the DC volts.  Product seems to very high quality.  Easy peasy install.  I'm using the Node N130 version as a streamer only.  Noticed a definite improvement in SQ.  Better clarity in the highs and tighter bass response.  Not night and day difference but noticeable.  I would recommend checking it out. 

+1 on the LHY upgrade.  I did the same on my N130, very pleased with the results.  I have now have the N1130 feeding a Denafrips Terminator II DAC which says a lot for the company.

Update on Teddy Pardo Dual5 - 2X5 3A power supply to power both my Chord Qutest and my Node (Gen3).  Most of this is from a previous post on Head Fi.

Listening first to the impact on the Qutest, it was clearly very different from the stock switching supply. Bass was deeper and especially much tighter. Midrange and highs were more defined in time if not space. The term more “incisive” comes to mind, but at the same time more relaxed. Just better.

I then removed the internal switching supply from the Bluesound Node and installed the DC adapter supplied by Pardo. This resulted in a similar and overall more coherent performance by the Node/Qutest combination. Significantly less grain and no sibilance - none whatsoever - even on the ripped CD recordings that were troublesome for every digital front end I have owned previously.

This combination is a revelation. 16/44.1 recordings now routinely sound terrific. HR recordings are intoxicating. Different power cables that I have built have very clear and distinctive sound signatures with the Teddy Pardo/Node/Qutest combination, and those differences are more discernible than with previous DACs I’ve owned with different power supplies. The dual power supply means I only need one supply and PC for both devices. I am using the Node almost entirely as a server with my entire digital music collection on a SSD drive connected to the Node via USB. I am connecting the Node to the Qutest with a Chord Company Signature Super ARAY coax cable. 

This is the best sounding digital front end I’ve had in my system to date. I start listening on headphones or through my speakers and it is hard to stop. I had a chuckle thinking that the combination of boxes and digital cable cost as much as a decent Naim streamer/DAC that is all contained in one box, but as my son noted, this is way more fun.

kn