I was referring to your last paragraph (meaning bottom paragraph). Not sure what you want Amir to do?
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Bluesound Node Review (Streamer)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Your problems are better solved here: https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/community/topics
The new UI 4.0 has caused many changes and hiccups.
bloodshoteyed
Major Contributor
besides some album art caching issues right after it came out, haven't had any other issues so far
Golfx this is the post 141 from this thread:
My job as a technical reviewer is to take the cover off piece of audio equipment and show where it is weak. You can choose to buy it, or not. Separately, the hope is that manufacturer sees that performance shortcuts are now revealed and is costing them some sales, hopefully causing future products to perform better. If I gave a pass to everything regardless of performance, then there is no point in measuring them. We deserve better execution than what we see here.
And I was trying to say that not all shortfalls are addressed equally. Good measuring equipment having a high failure rate should have a note about that even if it is added once the review is finished. There are a few threads on this forum pointing to a high failure rate of the certain DACs. I hope that clarifies what I meant to say.
My job as a technical reviewer is to take the cover off piece of audio equipment and show where it is weak. You can choose to buy it, or not. Separately, the hope is that manufacturer sees that performance shortcuts are now revealed and is costing them some sales, hopefully causing future products to perform better. If I gave a pass to everything regardless of performance, then there is no point in measuring them. We deserve better execution than what we see here.
And I was trying to say that not all shortfalls are addressed equally. Good measuring equipment having a high failure rate should have a note about that even if it is added once the review is finished. There are a few threads on this forum pointing to a high failure rate of the certain DACs. I hope that clarifies what I meant to say.
Thanks it does.
I’m on Amir’s side on setup/function issues of new equipment. If it cannot be intuitively setup from reading the manual or experimentation, then it should not have been released.
Over the last few years it seems NAD, who used to have a sterling reputation, has just lost interest in pleasing customers with easy to setup and bug free equipment. It is a shame. They used to command such respect.
Actually me ether except how the queue works but that was a deliberate change I don't like. If read posts in my link above we were lucky guys.
Unfortunately that seems to be a new normal (with a few exceptions). I made the first attempt to contact the TP Link support but no luck. I don't even know if my luck will ever change in that pursuit. The only readily available option is their AI assistant and it can only assist you in starting to cry right away. That is how useless it is!
What I did not like about this entire topic was that it was too polarizing. People who never even tried any of the players in the Node range would simply discount it because it was "too expensive". If that was the case, Bluesound would have been gone out of business long time ago. I also did not like the fact that nobody was willing to assign any monetary value to the Blue Os but Roon at $700 is just fine. Here in Canada that is the cost of subscription to Qobuz for 7 years. If Roon was to offer only their DSP part at reasonable cost, I would have had it long time ago. The way it is, I would have to pay the full price for 10% of the package I really need.
Anyway, I rest my case.
What I did not like about this entire topic was that it was too polarizing. People who never even tried any of the players in the Node range would simply discount it because it was "too expensive". If that was the case, Bluesound would have been gone out of business long time ago. I also did not like the fact that nobody was willing to assign any monetary value to the Blue Os but Roon at $700 is just fine. Here in Canada that is the cost of subscription to Qobuz for 7 years. If Roon was to offer only their DSP part at reasonable cost, I would have had it long time ago. The way it is, I would have to pay the full price for 10% of the package I really need.
Anyway, I rest my case.
Then this might help. https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200024966-Home-Networking Lots of others with WiFi issues
Pecrobet
Member
I plan to use DAC for my Bluesound NODE. Connect coaxial cable from music streamer to DAC, then run RCA cable from DAC to preamp.
You may want to consider running the DAC directly into the power amplifier.
A Cute Earring
Active Member
…as long as the power amplifier has a volume control, I think.
You can control volume using the BluOS app. No need for external. In my case, my DAC also can control volume.
A Cute Earring
Active Member
I can only control volume when using the internal DAC. My external DAC doesn’t have volume control so I need a preamp.
My dac, Topping E30 has no volume control attached by coax to the Node, controls my amp perfectly from/by the Node.
A Cute Earring
Active Member
Interesting. I’ll have to investigate further…
You can ask some questions here:
I have my Node connected to a pair of Elac Debut Connex speakers and after going back and forth between the Node's internal DAC (using the analogue output) and the Elac's internal DAC (Node connected over Toslink), I settled on the Elac's internal DAC. Mind you, the Elacs are a reasonably priced pair of active speakers but it's internal DAC sounds better than the Node's. It sounds more open and has better clarity, especially in the midrange which makes female vocals in particular sound more natural. The Node even has a PD Creative board and SBooster power supply (bought the whole package second hand) but even so its internal DAC can't match the Elac's internal DAC. The sound stage is pushed back and the lack of clarity compared to the Elacs makes it sound like it's veiled.
My conclusion is the Node is a great streamer but the sound quality of the internal DAC is not up to par. What I do like is BluOS, I can control the volume over the optical connection and it can learn the codes of any old remote you have lying in a drawer. I'm using a One4all Zapper+ to turn the speakers on and off and to control the Node (presets, volume and previous/next). I also have my Sony A90J connected to the Node using the headphones out on the TV ands this allows me to control the volume using the TV remote.
My conclusion is the Node is a great streamer but the sound quality of the internal DAC is not up to par. What I do like is BluOS, I can control the volume over the optical connection and it can learn the codes of any old remote you have lying in a drawer. I'm using a One4all Zapper+ to turn the speakers on and off and to control the Node (presets, volume and previous/next). I also have my Sony A90J connected to the Node using the headphones out on the TV ands this allows me to control the volume using the TV remote.
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Pecrobet
Member
I appreciate your detailed feedback. I will simply start by connecting the NODE directly to my Cambridge Audio CXA81 using either Coaxial or Toslink to get sense of sound quality. Then, I will integrate DAC and see how it performs and sounds using analog connection.
DAC Options:
• Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100
• iFi Audio Zen DAC V2
> Which DAC do you prefer and why?
These are budget DACs. I'm in process of upgrading to Topping or Cambridge Audio.
Any DAC recommendations:
• Budget $450-$550
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