This is a review and detailed measurements of the Bluesound Node 2i Streamer. It is on kind loan from a member and costs $499. I am assuming their target market is where SONOS dominates if you are familiar with that brand.
From the outside, this is one looking and feeling unit!
The unit is pure white with a luxurious rubberized paint. It ranks way up there as something Apple would design.
It is mains powered with a removable 2-conductor cable.
It has both wireless and wired connectivity. I tested it with the latter. Being a network-centric device, the only digital input is a combo 3.5 mm Toslink optical input. For output though there is S/PDIF coax and Toslink optical digital outputs. Analog outputs is a set of RCA for left and right plus a subwoofer output.
There is external IR input for integration in home automation although I hope it also has IP control (have not checked).
There is no display on the unit. The only controls are through classic transport ones plus volume. For my testing I opted for fixed volume.
There is integrated Bluetooth which I have not tested.
I did not have a remote for it so I downloaded their app which instantly recognized and connected to the unit. I selected the input there.
I am more focused on the performance of the unit so seek out other reviews for its functionality.
Measurements
I was so happy there was a Toslink input capable of 24-bit input as that makes my testing a lot easier. It allows my Audio Precision analyzer to directly control the signals it sends out for measurements, giving me full set of capabilities. I found my one and only 3.5mm Toslink cable that I had used for testing Google Chromecast and connected the two units. What greeted me was quite surprising. The 1 kHz sine wave would shift left and right and its frequency would jump back and for a bit every second or so. Needless to say, this played havoc with all the measurements:
View attachment 21504
I hooked up a coax cable to S/PDIF and measured that and got the same results:
View attachment 21505
It could be the cable or its end points have gone bad causing the unit to get data error. I don't think it is losing lock as would likely interrupt the digital stream to coax which it did not seem to do. I tried to test the cable with my Chromecast but did not succeed in getting the darn thing on the network to connect to it.
I decided to stream the bits to it and was pleasantly surprised when Roon showed it as an end-point, albeit, with a red warning saying it is not certified. I streamed my 1 kHz tone to it and got stable, and proper output:
View attachment 21506
Bluesound specs the unit at 0.005% and measurements are actually better in both channels. Resulting SINAD though (signal over noise and distortion) is not great at just 88 dB. This is well short of the dynamic range of the CD so the statement that the unit supports high-resolution, 24-bit playback is moot. The SINAD lands in out lowest quarter as far as DACs/streamers tested:
View attachment 21507
Next I ran my jitter test the same way and got this:
View attachment 21508
Not broken, and nothing audible but not great performance either. The measured noise level is some 15 dB higher than the best DACs we have tested for example.
From here the testing gets more difficult in that I have play special signals that the Audio Precision needs to correctly capture and sync up since it has no control over their playback cadence. So don't run home with them but I thought I share them as I need to use them with more devices of this type in the future. I hope to refine them and build more confidence in them.
The test squency is a 7-tone multi-tone similar to the 32-tone one we run on DACs:
View attachment 21509
We see quite a bit of distortion spikes which makes sense given the SINAD figures we had.
Using the same signal, the AP software is able to compute the signal to noise ratio:
View attachment 21510
This is quite a bit worse than the specified 110 dB. It may instrumentation error though. If trusted, it is shy of CD's dynamic range on noise basis too although not much.
I have been asked about pure noise level before. That pops out of this test too so here it is:
View attachment 21511
That's it I think.
Conclusions
The industrial design of the Bluesound Node 2i is fantastic, easily earning A+ in my book. You would just look at it and touch it as well!
Going after SONOS market requires that and they have nailed it. Networking functionality worked perfectly in the limited testing I gave it. Things like subwoofer output are nice touches too. Overall, I have nothing to complain about.
The complaining however, starts at pure performance of the unit and potentially a broken Toslink implementation. I may buy another cable to test but for now, if the company is reading this, I highly suggest testing the Toslink input to see if this is a problem or not. Toslink input is important from integration with TV sound for example.
On performance front, it is disappointing to see such low SINAD ratings even though it beats their specifications. I like to see something in high 90s even in budget products. As far as I can tell, playback of high-resolution audio is one of the advantages they tout so would be good if they delivered that objectively.
Until the Toslink issues are sorted out, I can't recommend the product. It is a shame because this level of fit and finish from a branded company at such a price is a great combination.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
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