Node 2i with external usb dac

[dmoss74]

Hi,

I was just playing around with a couple stand alone dacs i have tonight. i plugged them into my bluesound node 2i, outputting form the node 2i via usb to both dacs.

they both sounded different, which was expected. all the cables and amp settings were the same.

but now i'm reading that the node 2i doesn't output data via usb. what then was i hearing? this makes no sense to me. the RCAs were coming out of the dacs to the amp. one of them does have a headphone amp in it, while the other is just a pure dac.

granted, i'm no electrical engineer, but i do know that all three setups (also including the node 2i as analog output) were different sounding.

does anyone have the answer to this? i know the node 2i did a couple firmware updates (one last week), but i don't have any changelogs from them. i'd prefer to have the usb output. it can double as power to either dac too.

thanks for any help.

 

[Doodski]

Hi,

I was just playing around with a couple stand alone dacs i have tonight. i plugged them into my bluesound node 2i, outputting form the node 2i via usb to both dacs.

they both sounded different, which was expected. all the cables and amp settings were the same.

but now i'm reading that the node 2i doesn't output data via usb. what then was i hearing? this makes no sense to me. the RCAs were coming out of the dacs to the amp. one of them does have a headphone amp in it, while the other is just a pure dac.

granted, i'm no electrical engineer, but i do know that all three setups (also including the node 2i as analog output) were different sounding.

does anyone have the answer to this? i know the node 2i did a couple firmware updates (one last week), but i don't have any changelogs from them. i'd prefer to have the usb output. it can double as power to either dac too.

thanks for any help.

It's doubtful that they sounded different. The mind plays tricks on people when they attempt to compare stuff and when that comparison involved moments to seconds or minutes with no sound then it is near impossible to remember what the previous sound was like. The memory for sound is near non-existent. I am doubtful that what you think you heard is what you actually heard.

 

[dmoss74]

thanks for the reply. they definitely sounded different, mainly in a track where soundstage width was perceivable.

what confuses me most is if the usb wasn't passing data to the dacs, what was the signal chain that went through the node 2i to the dacs (via usb) and rca out from the dacs to my amp. the node had no speaker outs attached to it.

 

[Rottmannash]

I have a Node 2i. It doesn't have internal amps-it's only a streamer. So can't have "speaker outs". Unless you meant RCA outs from the Node 2i to an amp. AFAIK the Node 2i cannot output via USB. Only optical or coax. Did u have either of those also connected to the amp?

 

[dmoss74]

hi,

thanks. and yes, i meant the rca outs from the node 2i.

and yes, i did have a coax out from the node to the amp (actually, a yamaha avr).

ideas in my head obviously outpaced my cognitive capabilities on a late friday night. lol

now i have a second query. if it's irrelevant to this particular forum; my apologies. i'm just trying to make sure of signal paths coming from the node 2i. it's looking like no matter what third party dac i use (including the node), as soon as it hits the yamaha (with the ypao room correction) the internal dac of the yamaha is doing all the lifting. the only way i see that the external dac would be fully implemented is if i go the "pure direct" mode; which at that point disables my sub.

and it looks like the same thing applies if i use the RCA outs from any of the dacs to the receiver.

does that about sum it up? and thanks for all the help.

 

[staticV3]

hi,

thanks. and yes, i meant the rca outs from the node 2i.

and yes, i did have a coax out from the node to the amp (actually, a yamaha avr).

ideas in my head obviously outpaced my cognitive capabilities on a late friday night. lol

now i have a second query. if it's irrelevant to this particular forum; my apologies. i'm just trying to make sure of signal paths coming from the node 2i. it's looking like no matter what third party dac i use (including the node), as soon as it hits the yamaha (with the ypao room correction) the internal dac of the yamaha is doing all the lifting. the only way i see that the external dac would be fully implemented is if i go the "pure direct" mode; which at that point disables my sub.

and it looks like the same thing applies if i use the RCA outs from any of the dacs to the receiver.

does that about sum it up? and thanks for all the help.

When you use the Yamaha's room correction and sub integration, then any analog signal source plugged into it will first be turned back into digital.

That means that the final result is the sum of external DAC->Yamaha ADC->DSP->internal DAC

If you want to use YPAO, then it's best to feed the Yamaha via SPDIF (Toslink/Coax), thereby removing two unnecessary conversions for the chain.

 

[dmoss74]

thank you, static. i have some playing around to do today. i was just trying to use the node with other dacs. but in doing so, i gather that the only outputs from them would be rca. not digital.

 

[dmoss74]

i'm trying to come up with an idea for i/o on this receiver.

av duties are being done with a google chromecast (HDMI), which is fine. no issues there.

what i'm wondering is if this following setup would work. hopefully the chain is correct.

source (qobuz/home server nas) streamed into node 2i. the 2i has a sub out in the back that i could y split into my existing sub that is set with the av section. i only play one source at a time. bluesound has bass management and some form of parametric eq (i think) for the mains. the 2 channel audio would go from the node to the avr, bypassing any converters dsp in the yamaha.

i would assume that sending the digital (coax) from the node to another dac would do the same thing, but i'll also assume that i lose the eq/bass management from the node.

but i'm not sure. this is all spitballing at this point.