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Any advantage to Bluesound Node 2i Versus Streaming from PC

I'm trying a loaner Bluesound Node 2i streamer which salesperson said will sound better than streaming from my PC.  I doubted this since both are just feeding a digital signal to my Amp.  It's just zeros and ones right?   I have the Bluesound connected with a decent (not high end) digital coaxial cable to my Lyngdorf 3400.  The PC is connected with a cheap USB cable to the same Lyngdorf.  The sensitivity of both inputs is set to 0dB.  The bluesound is set to fixed volume and the PC volume is set to max.  I am playing Tidal through both input devices.  I am trying to discern if there is any difference in sound quality.  When played through the amp the bluesound volume is a whole lot louder than the PC.  I have not found a way to level match the two inputs for comparison.  The bluesound sounds good and is a lot louder per any particular volume setting on the amp.  Does this mean the Bluesound is sending a better signal to the amp?  Is the  coaxial cable a better medium to transmit the  audio signal?  Is this the reason it's louder?  Could the Tidal feed through Bluesound be better than the Tidal Desktop app on my PC?  I need some help as I have to decide by Saturday whether to keep the Bluesound or return it. Other than sound quality there are only minor advantages to owning the Bluesound which don't warrant the purchase.  My amp has a built in streamer but no built in Tidal (which is the reason I'm using the PC.)
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jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
yes level matching is critical in any A vs B comparison

and yes the node will sound better supplying the digital stream than your pc

search on internet or youtube for ample number of explanations of why this is so
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,560 posts
 
Better SQ, better control, diminished RF and line hash noise.

big_greg
6,622 posts
 
It depends mostly on the DAC and its implementation.  I'm not familiar with your Lyngdorf, but at its price point, I would expect it to have a pretty decent DAC.  I'd be surprised if the Node 2i sounded better.

Streaming from my computer to my MHDT Labs Orchid sounds much better than streaming to my BlueSound Node 2, I can tell you that.
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ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
jjss49

i read through quite a few posts and they are all over the place. Certainly no overwhelming majority in one camp or the other.  In my case it is a higher end PC ((not that this matters).  Really hard to discern a real difference in sound quality  especially given the difference in volume.   Some people reference noise, power switching etc produced by the PC to say streamer is better. I could understand that explanation if I was trying to take analog out of the PC but it’s digital data and in my case it doesn’t appear to be affected. And many audiophiles are using PCs as their source which I don’t think would be the case if streamers were that much better an option.   I was actually predisposed to hearing an improvement In SQ.  Maybe my ear Is not well developed.   I will try to see if I can run it through my headphone dac/amp versus PC to see if I can get a matching sound level for comparison. 
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