Author Topic: Bluesound Node  (Read 31273 times)

Offline tmazz

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Bluesound Node
« on: December 07, 2015, 09:32:26 PM »
A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a trial subscrition to Tidal. I had been playinng it through my bone stock Squeezebox Touch and while I was really enjoying that musical aspect of Tidal, the sound via the Touch left something to be desired.

So based on some of the comments posted by Evan I decided to give a Bluesound Node unit a try (I bought it through Crutchfield who offer a 60 day return policy, so I figured if I didn't like it  I could send it right back.)

Well in a nutshell the sound difference between the two is night and day and I am enjoying the hell out of the Node and Tidal.

Now I can discover gobs of music right at my fingertips. (Evan, you have nobody to blame but yourself if I start overloading the listeng thread again.  #-o  :lol:)

Details to follow when I get a bit more time to write.
Remember, it's all about the music........

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Offline ejk

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2015, 12:31:18 AM »
Great news Tom

Did you get the new gen 2 Node or the first gen. Make sure you run an external dac. I wasn't crazy about the built in one even though they say it's decent.
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Offline ejk

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Offline jimbones

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2015, 03:52:00 AM »
Tom, remember I get first dibs on the sale of your LPs :rofl:
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Offline Emil

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2015, 05:11:04 AM »
Maybe its time I get my feet wet with computer audio.

Let me understand this:

1) I need a tablet, laptap, phone or some computer device
2) Pay 19.99 a month for a subscription to tidal
3) Purchase this Bluesound thingy
4) Connect the computer with the Bluesound thingy via wifi. Easy?
5) Connect the Blusound to my DAC via a cable

Sound quality better than Redbook CD?
« Last Edit: December 08, 2015, 05:15:25 AM by Emil »
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I got to say it was a good day"
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Offline ejk

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2015, 05:29:39 AM »
Sounds just as good and you can download 24/192 from HD Tracks to your computer and playback through the Node. It will allow you to build a library
Aric Audio Super 6SN7 Line, Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra, Quicksilver Mid Monos, Lumin U2 Mini, Denafrips Pontus II 12th-1,Denafrips Iris DDC, Spatial Audio M3 Saphire, Hapa Audio Interconnects, TWL power cords, TWL speaker cables, Wireworld USB, i2s.

Offline ejk

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2015, 05:31:09 AM »
Also you can use other services with the Node but if you have Tidal y would u want to
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Offline mfsoa

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2015, 06:57:52 AM »
Quote
Well in a nutshell the sound difference between the two is night and day and I am enjoying the hell out of the Node and Tidal.

Does this include use of the Node to play your stored music files, or just "Tidal via Touch" vs. Tidal via Node"?

I'd think that night and day with Tidal would also be night and day with stored files.

As I've said in my system the Touch, as digital source through coax, just doesn't sound as good as a PC w/ USB, into the same dac. So easily a night and day's worth of improvement to be had.

Thanks


Offline ejk

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2015, 09:35:27 AM »
All your stored music files. I also been ripping my cd's to a NAS and retreive them with my Node
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Offline tmazz

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2015, 10:55:33 AM »
Great news Tom

Did you get the new gen 2 Node or the first gen. Make sure you run an external dac. I wasn't crazy about the built in one even though they say it's decent.

I got the first gen model. The only difference I could see between the new and the old is the size and shape of the case and the fact that the Gen 2 has an RCA spdif output as well as a toslink. I did not feel that those two differences were enough to justify the $150 more I would have had to pay for a Gen 2, so I just stuck with the original.

I heard from several sources other than you who all agreed that the internal DAC in the Bluesound products was not bad from a mass market point of view, but did not stand up well against other high end products so I just went straight to running it through my EE DAC without even trying the analog outputs. That will be a project for a rainy day somewhere down the road if for nothing else than curiosity's sake.
Remember, it's all about the music........

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• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
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Offline tmazz

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Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables

Offline tmazz

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #11 on: December 08, 2015, 10:58:53 AM »
Tom, remember I get first dibs on the sale of your LPs :rofl:

Jim as much fun as I am having with Tidal, it is still digital. You will still have to pry those LPs from my cold dead hands.  8)
Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables

Offline tmazz

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #12 on: December 08, 2015, 11:27:14 AM »
Maybe its time I get my feet wet with computer audio.

Let me understand this:

1) I need a tablet, laptap, phone or some computer device
2) Pay 19.99 a month for a subscription to tidal
3) Purchase this Bluesound thingy
4) Connect the computer with the Bluesound thingy via wifi. Easy?
5) Connect the Blusound to my DAC via a cable

Sound quality better than Redbook CD?

Emil you have a whole bunch of questions there so let me address them one at a time. First off the Bluesound Node is simply a network streaming device. All it does in and of itself is feed audio files from your home network into your stereo system via a WiFi or hardwired Ethernet connection. That can be digital files that you ripped yourself and stored on a hard drive, digital files that you purchased and downloaded to a hard drive via service like HD Tracks or files that you stream in realtime from a cloud service like Tidal.

The box itself has no controls other than a mute button so you need a computer tablet of smartphone to configure and operate it via a free Bluesound app. If you just want to listen to streaming services you can control it from your phone and don't need a computer at all. Of course if you are going to Rip and store files you will need a computer or a NAS drive to store, but that is up to you them on. (I think you might be able to download from HD Tracks directly and store the files on a NAS or USB attached hard drive, but I have not gotten that far into yet so I can't say for sure.

Setup was painless and other than having to update the firmware to recognize Tidal (being an older unit the firmware it shipped with was looking to connect to WIMP in Denmark, which was the original rollout of what we now know in the US as Tidal).

The Bluesound app provides native Tidal support, so unlike the Squeezbox there are no third party plugins to track down and install. (And BTW, Tidal offers a 30 day free trial so you can check it out on your PC and see what they have to offer before committing to signing up or buying any hardware to support it.)

As for the sound, with the painting I have been doing, kids home from college for Thanksgiving and trying to get all the outdoor Christmas decorations up while the temps are still in the 50s I cannot say that I have had a whole lot of sweet spot listening time since installing the Bluesound, but I have had enough to get some pretty strong initial impressions (and of course like everything else I am sure the unit will benefit from some break in time). It is really hard to do a truly valid A-B comparison with a CD because in most cases you never really know exactly what version of a CD that Tidal ripped for their library (with the exception of some specific audiophile pressings that have distinctive markings on their covers). But that said, in the few brief A-Bs I got the chance to do I found that Tidal sounded no worse than a decent CD pressing. Putting in an orginal CD of the same album yielded a small difference that I would categorize as similar to kind of a increase you might get from upgrading a well done CD pressing from the stock aluminum to the gold version. The differences are there if you listen for them, but they are no where near OMG revelations. And in my mind, if I am really concerned about having a high quality sit down sweet spot session, I am heading down the basement to pull out the vinyl copy anyway so not having the ultimate redbook SQ is a small price to pay  for the amount of access I get to all kinds of recording. (It's like having the whole stock of PREX right in the living room with me   :drool: )
Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables

Offline tmazz

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #13 on: December 08, 2015, 11:43:22 AM »
Quote
Well in a nutshell the sound difference between the two is night and day and I am enjoying the hell out of the Node and Tidal.

Does this include use of the Node to play your stored music files, or just "Tidal via Touch" vs. Tidal via Node"?

I'd think that night and day with Tidal would also be night and day with stored files.

As I've said in my system the Touch, as digital source through coax, just doesn't sound as good as a PC w/ USB, into the same dac. So easily a night and day's worth of improvement to be had.

Thanks



So far I have only had time to play with Tidal as I need to set up the drive paths to my computer and I have just not gotten to that yet. But when I first set up Tidal through the SB Touch it was not too bad on Pop/Rock, but really fell short SQ wise with classical. I played  a Tidal stream of Ansermet and the Suisse Romande doing Scheherazade and it was just flat lifeless and two dimensional. Exactly the opposite of what I know is in that recording. However the same album streamed through the Node jumps back to life and regains the depth and spaciousness I am used to hearing. No, of course it is not as good as the Japanese Super Analogue LP, but it still puts out credible high end sound.

A few weeks ago I tried ripping a Mannheim Steamroller CD using Itunes to a full lossless file. Played through the main system via the SB Touch I heard the same type of audio shortcomings as I did playing Scheherazade via the SB. So while I have not yet tried playing the steamroller via the Node, I assume it will exhibit the same  kids of improvement I heard when moving Tidal to the Node. Time will tell. I will fill you guys in when I get a chance to listen to it again in the new configuration. But hey, the SB was  a mass market product and was never marketed as a high end solution, whereas Bluesound is a division of NAD, a company that had been focused on good sound for the dollar for many years now.

I am sure that there are better sounding network players out there (with of course, bigger price tags  :roll:), but at $349 with a 60 day money back guarantee through Crutchfield, I think the Node represents a great way to get into the world of streaming and computer audio without risking buck bucks to do so.
Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables

Offline tmazz

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Re: Bluesound Node
« Reply #14 on: December 08, 2015, 11:54:45 AM »
And just for those who are interested the Node is the entry level model in the Bluesound family, not really in terms of sound, but in terms of speakers.

They all pretty much build off of the Node base and add other feature. One model is the same as the Node, but also includes a small power amp so that you can hook a pair of speaker directly to the Node without needing any other electronics. Anther packages the node in the same chassis as a self powered speaker to make a one box countertop music system. And the top of the line model adds an optical drive and a 2Tb hard drive to make a complete stand alone music server that can handle all jobs from ripping right through playback, all withing the same unit.

More details can be found here:

http://www.bluesound.com/en-us/products/node/

Note: although the web site still shows the price of the Node as $499, now that the Node 2 has shipped great deals can be had on the original version.
Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables