Blue Sound Node

coolsax

So I finally got around to Auditioning one of these in my home this weekend. www.bluesound.com

I'm really impressed with it so far. Its almost like Sonos for Hi-Res Music. I've A&B ing with my Squeezebox touch, No DAC and using matching MIT interconnects, and I'll be honest I'm having a hard time telling the difference between the sound quality of the two... They both sound equally good to me and if I had to say any difference its possible that the Node might be slightly warmer and fuller, but I can't be fully sure as they really sound similar in quality and tone.

Where I think the Node wins out is in the Interface department. One, its a headless system so you have to use an apple or android tablet or phone. I currently use the Logitech Squeezebox touch controller on my Ipad and Iphone and it's a pretty clunky piece of software, as well as the fact the SBT has to run Squeezebox server on my desktop PC even though all of my music is on a Qnap NAS, which means the PC always has to be up and running.. if its asleep when I want to listen to tunes I have to wake up the computer before accessing my music. This "middle man" approach is not required for the Node. It doesn't use DLNA or UPnP for grabbing the music off of the NAS. You actually just have to have it access the Shared folder on the Network. I just directed it to my //servername//public//music folder and told the IOS app to scan the folders for the music and it does. It's probably about twice as fast doing the scan wired (Ethernet) as opposed to wireless, but that should be expected.

I played music both Wired and Wirelessly since my router is in the same room and I didn't notice any difference in sound and did not have any dropouts in wireless mode. My authorized dealer however does recommend using it wired as he has had issues in his home keeping a connection wirelessly when other Wifi media streamers haven't. I will likely try and move the node around the house perhaps tomorrow to see if I have the same issue.

The Bluesound app is much more user friendly than the squeezebox remote app. It is smoother when accessing files, and the search function is much nicer as well. When I opened up the app, my music was ready to be played. Didn't have to worry about whether or not my PC was awake or not. One minor thing about it is that when you choose a song while another song is playing, it doesn't automatically start the song you just chose. Instead it places the song in your playlist and then you either have to tap the >> button or the song itself on the playlist. This probably isn't an issue for most people but I would rather have the option to play or put into playlist. However, this is very minor issue overall.

Overall I'm really enjoying the ease of use from the Node and after I return the audition piece, I will likely purchase one of my own, so once I've run my own Node for a few weeks I'm sure my Squeezebox Touch will be up for sale.

I did not get a chance to try out any other of the system pieces, but the system is similar to Sonos in that it has an Amplified version and as well as individual powered speakers like Sonos.

Anyway just wanted to put some thoughts out there about this newer streaming option.

coolsax

Had a chance to move the Node around the house today. Was able to play easily from several spots in the house, so I'm wondering if there is some kind of interference in the house of the Dealer, because I had no issues at all with wireless streaming around the house.. even had it playing for a full hour with the router upstairs and the Node downstairs with no dropouts even with loading up some intensive browser items, such as Facebook games and such with no issues. When I return my audition node I will be purchasing my own. The user experience just kills it when compared to the SB touch, which is still a great product, just time for me to move on from it.

Mikey081057

I just order the Bluesound Node. I have a SBT, and will be replacing it on my 2 channel system. The SBT is ok and has endured for some time but just want something up to date with a nice user interface on my smartphone/tablet. I just want something that when I do get home and can get some time to listen that I don't have to worry about MS updates having my computer waiting for my input or restart. I will experiment using optical from BSNODE to dac inputs on my Marantz SA8004 and My P5 pre... Ordered mine from AA as those guys rock.

coolsax

I love the Node, the sound is better than the SBT, not that the SBT was hard, but it was sometimes inconvenient, and it is sooo much easier once you get it set up. Never have to worry about a sleeping computer, it finds the share folder for the NAS, wakes up the NAS and goes.

steveinaz

Looks like a cool streaming solution.

Mikey081057

Received my BlueSound Node from AA.

Setup was easy and well documented. It is connected to my home network wirelessly.

I have it hooked up using an Audioquest Cinnamon Toslink to my Marantz SA8004 SACD player (using it's DAC) which is connected to my Parasound P5 by a pair of Audioquest King Cobra's. The P5 is connected to my Parasound A21 via balanced King Cobra i/c's. The A21 is driving my VR3 modded SDA SRS 2.3's.

The packaging is solid and very hi tech... reminds me a little of the way Oppo packages their products.

The Node itself is very solid and well made. It is compact and is heavier than it looks.

The Node has availability to all the popular streaming services including Tidal which is my service of choice.

The smartphone interface is the nicest i have seen and very intuitive.

The sound quality is unremarkable... meant in a good way. It does not color the sound in any perceptible area.

So at first impression I think I have found the streaming device I have been searching for.

tonyb

Cool man, glad your digging it. Haven't had a chance to play with one myself but they sure get some good reviews. Rock on....

Mikey081057

Hey tonyb... how u been...i've been playing this thing non-stop. Tidal has not skipped once...u can always get a 30 day trial from AA...

tonyb

Yeah man, they will change the way you listen to music. I'm not paying 20 bucks a month for Tidal, that's just me though. Plus I don't care for the **** bag owner. The cd quality I listen to anyway is on my already downloaded collection of cd's.

For me.....I don't need cd quality for background music services, nobody cares when your having a party, BBQ-ing, etc. I can put together a playlist from my collection anyway in cd quality if I wanted to, and sometimes I do just that.

Mikey081057

tonyb wrote: »

Yeah man, they will change the way you listen to music. I'm not paying 20 bucks a month for Tidal, that's just me though. Plus I don't care for the **** bag owner. The cd quality I listen to anyway is on my already downloaded collection of cd's.

For me.....I don't need cd quality for background music services, nobody cares when your having a party, BBQ-ing, etc. I can put together a playlist from my collection anyway in cd quality if I wanted to, and sometimes I do just that.

Can't say I could give a rat's posterior for the owner but Tidal is a cool service...I tried Pandora and Spotify and am locked on this for now. I heard he was biotching the other day that he ain't makin' no money on Tidal... Ain't he the guy who complains about other people and corps making too much money? He should give it up for free... he could right? He is set for life... How much money does someone need?

tonyb

Mikey081057 wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

Yeah man, they will change the way you listen to music. I'm not paying 20 bucks a month for Tidal, that's just me though. Plus I don't care for the **** bag owner. The cd quality I listen to anyway is on my already downloaded collection of cd's.

For me.....I don't need cd quality for background music services, nobody cares when your having a party, BBQ-ing, etc. I can put together a playlist from my collection anyway in cd quality if I wanted to, and sometimes I do just that.

Can't say I could give a rat's posterior for the owner but Tidal is a cool service...I tried Pandora and Spotify and am locked on this for now. I heard he was biotching the other day that he ain't makin' no money on Tidal... Ain't he the guy who complains about other people and corps making too much money? He should give it up for free... he could right? He is set for life... How much money does someone need?

Like I said, he's a **** bag. Rumored to have bailed out bunches of protesters too in Ferguson, and Baltimore. That's beside the point though....but speaking for myself, I wouldn't give him a nickel of my money no matter how good Tidal is.

If you like it though, rock on and enjoy.

adb3da

I just received and installed a first generation Node that I picked up on eBay. Just getting the feel for it now. I know the Node2 is better, but I didn't want to pay that much. Any tips or tricks I should be aware of? I am primarily using streaming services. I have both Spotify and Tidal. I really wish Spotify had a lossless subscription option because their app is much better than Tidal's IMO. Anyway, just looking for some comments from long time users!

tonyb

Can't offer you much help with the Node, haven't played with one in a long time. Subscription services that do lossless though, like Tidal and I think just a few others is going to be hit or miss. You'll find software that varies between them all, good and bad, and that plays into your overall satisfaction.

Your best bet is to download all your cd's in lossless and play them with the Node. It should take what you have on your computer and make a library for you.

BTW....playing those subscription services, even though they are of lessor quality, do sound better thru an external dac of decent quality.

adb3da

Re: the dac. I currently have mine hooked up to a Peachtree DAC ITx. Tidal through this thing sounds really good. Spotify is not bad either.

I am having an issue though. My Node drops off the network after a few minutes of inactivity. I have to power cycle it to get it reconnected. Not sure if it's an issue with the Node or my router. I have submitted a support ticket to Blusound. Hopefully they are able to help me resolve this.

tonyb

Yeah, shouldn't do that ....hope they get it worked out for you. These devices are always on devices. My Sonos has been on 5 years now without a hiccup.

Hate to say it, but sometimes this is the reason some sell this stuff on Ebay. Which is why I would personally never buy electronics there unless it was from a legit dealer.

adb3da

tonyb wrote: »

Hate to say it, but sometimes this is the reason some sell this stuff on Ebay. Which is why I would personally never buy electronics there unless it was from a legit dealer.

It's definitely the risk you take on eBay. For me, it's worked out many more times than I have been burned. And the savings have allowed me to buy items I otherwise would not be able to afford. When I win the lottery I will swear off eBay for good!

Bluesound technical support responded to me over the weekend, which surprised me in a good way. But I think it might have been a canned/automated response based on my question. They indicated that they have encountered this kind of issue before with people using my same brand of router (which is a fairly high-end Asus). I have a backup Linksys router and I have hooked that up as an access point with a unique SSID. So now I have the Node connected to the Linksys and so far things seem to be working. Hopefully it will stay connected indefinitely now. Fingers crossed!

RamZet

The BlueSound node2 is nice, I got to demo one for awhile too.

I didn't get the chance to connect a HDD to it USB.
I want to know if the BlueSound will show you the music the way it appears on the HDD or will it index it and mess everything up?
For example my Autonomic MMS-2A will index the music from my PC and if a album has guest artist on it, it will break that same album up into many albums.

adb3da

RamZet wrote: »

I want to know if the BlueSound will show you the music the way it appears on the HDD or will it index it and mess everything up?
For example my Autonomic MMS-2A will index the music from my PC and if a album has guest artist on it, it will break that same album up into many albums.

That's a good question, but as of now I have only been using it for streaming services, so none of my music files have been indexed.

tonyb

RamZet wrote: »

...For example my Autonomic MMS-2A will index the music from my PC and if a album has guest artist on it, it will break that same album up into many albums.

The Sonos will do that also.

stogie

I had the Node2 for a couple of weeks, then sent it back. Only used it for streaming the music library on my computer (no internet services). It seems every time the computer woke from sleep the node had to re-index the library- which took about 25 minutes each time. Their customer service tried to help- even took remote control of my computer to change settings many times and still nothing helped resolve the issue. Something in my system just didn't like the node I guess. Their customer support people were very pleasant to deal with though.

txcoastal1

stogie wrote: »

Their customer service tried to help- even took remote control of my computer to change settings many times and still nothing helped resolve the issue. Their customer support people were very pleasant to deal with though.

Wow where did you get their support info from. I can't seem to get a hold or find any support.

tonyb

stogie wrote: »

I had the Node2 for a couple of weeks, then sent it back. Only used it for streaming the music library on my computer (no internet services). It seems every time the computer woke from sleep the node had to re-index the library- which took about 25 minutes each time. Their customer service tried to help- even took remote control of my computer to change settings many times and still nothing helped resolve the issue. Something in my system just didn't like the node I guess. Their customer support people were very pleasant to deal with though.

When using most these streaming devices, you have to take your computer out of sleep mode. Your 'puter stays on, you can turn off the monitor, but the 'puter has to stay on.

stogie

tx- I posted a question or two on their forum and was advised to contact support and it took off from there. Even talked with support numerous times- they set up a time and called me.

tony- Support never mentioned that computer sleep was an issue. Heck I'm still learning this computer/streaming stuff- crawling, ever so slowly, as I go.

right now I'm trying a dedicated mac mini running iTunes- no issues when it goes to sleep

life was so much simpler when I could just plug in an 8-track