Bluesound node 2i


Hi all

My Audio Research CDT1 is apparently unrepairable so I've been thinking about replacing it with a network streamer instead of another transport.  The local audio shop has the Bluesound Node 2i and it has a digital out that I can plug into my DAC, so it seems like a possibility.  But then the sales person said something that seems a bit strange to me: he claims that the sound will be much better if I plug it directly into the router than if I let it use the wireless.  Does anyone have any experience that would back up or refute this claim?  I admit I am a Computer Scientist not an Electrical Engineer, but I would have thought that any decent wireless streamer would buffer the input that came in and I think my DAC buffers and re-clocks whatever input it gets, so I'm not sure why this should matter.  For context I have Google WiFi and 450 Mb per second service.  Any other streamers I should consider? I know a lot of folks seem to like the Audiolab 6000N. Thanks for any comments.

Howard
howardlander
The Bluesound Node 2i is a nice piece and good value for the money.
Like most of its competitors, more often than not, it will behave and perform better using a wired connection.  There are few streamers that actually are designed to perform better using a wireless connection, with some of the Auralic offerings (with much higer price point than the Node 2i) among the notable exceptions.  You will tend to have less dropouts and better resolution going the wired route, especially with hi res material streamed over the internet.
I use my Node wirelessly (on the 5 ghz band). 
I have never had any problem with dropouts, -which would be the main issue of using wireless. If you have a good signal, you should be fine.

Is there a difference between ethernet and wireless?
Maybe, but I haven't noticed it, but, then again, I am not anally retentive about such things. If it sounds good, it is good.

The only other streamer I would consider is the Aurender N100.
A bit more than the Node, but very, very good.
The main drawback is that it only works with Qobuz and Tidal, whereas the Node has a greater number of applications to choose from.
Bob
I think it depends on how clean your wireless is. If you are in an apartment building or condo and have lots of neighbors that are clogging up the wireless channels, you're like to have more dropped packets which can cause issues. Generally, the 5Ghz band is less crowded and is more likely to give you better performance. 

I live in a city, but in a neighborhood where the houses are a fair distance apart. I have four Node 2is as part of my network (along with a higher quality Bryston streamer on my main 2-channel system) and have used them both wired and wireless with good results. 
Thanks for the replies. We live in what I think is called the x-urbs.  It's not the deep country, but I have 3 neighbors within a 200 yard or so radius, so I really don't think contention is going to be an issue. I could always run a wire, but it would be a pain...
@howardlander 
It seems like you won't have any trouble using wifi in your neighborhood. I live in a city rowhome and had issues with neighbors (5gHz router).

Regarding an ethernet connection, I changed to wired when I was tweaking my Node2i for better performance. My findings were CAT6 was an upgrade over wireless, then changing to CAT8 provided noticeably better sonics possibly due to shielding on individual conductors. Music sounded fuller with more weight vs. Wifi.

I highly recommend that you use a quality aftermarket cable for the Node, it's a noticeable improvement. A C7 cable is required (also called a figure 8 cable). With this upgrade, Wifi vs. ethernet sound quality will be negligible.