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Blue sound Node 2 vs Lumin D1

I am looking for a streamer with a built in DAC.  I have backed off my original plan to purchase the Aurender A10 and am looking for a less expensive option.  The Bluesound and Lumin players do essentially the same thing  BTW, my immediate interest is streaming Tidal, so MQA is a possible plus for both players.  The obvious difference between $500 for the Node 2 and $2000 for the Lumin distinguishes the two players.  Does that price difference translate to a significant difference in performance/sound quality? Both are within my budget but I would rather not spend the additional $1500 unless the improvement is fairly dramatic.  I would really like to hear from anyone who has had both players in their system and have had an opportunity to compare them.
randyhat
nutella
223 posts
 
I have had a Node 2 for a while and regret purchasing it. Because I bought it from a dealer who had a few demo items he had discounted and I could have got the Bluesound Vault for a great price as well.

That being said, I love my Node2 but wish I threw in the extra for the Vault. The quality of the streaming (I use an updated Bidat dac) is on par with my cd through my ead transport. I hardly listen to CD’s anymore

The sound quality through the Node2 analog outputs was very close to the sq from the stream through the Bidat. If I knew this thing was as good as it is, I would have had no hesitation going for the Vault.

Assc gear: Classe CP700, Pass X150, Dynaudio Confidence C2.  Streaming with Tidal.


jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller
1,430 posts
 
I have the Bluesound Node 2 as well. I’ll try to give quick bullet conclusions.

Pros
  • Size
  • Connectivity options
  • Wireless stability (rarely a problem, and I mean rarely)
  • Customer support. You can a live human on the phone--first call--in Canada. They solve any issue. Amazing in 2017.
  • Sound: Superb. Note: I do, however, run a separate DAC NAD M51 from the Node. But the Node DAC is really something with Tidal. I can hear the difference though between nearly anything on Tidal and Spotify premium. Tidal is just better to my ear.
  • Software: The software is pretty nifty and I generally like it. It gives you direct access to internet radio/streaming radio. The GUI is pretty solid--yet some small reservations on the software...see below. 
  • Bluesound allows you to add in nearly unlimited players on your network. I have another unit in the kitchen (one of their sound boxes). The sound is solid and it fits my needs in the kitchen. All players can play the same thing or separately via the app. You can also press a button in the new app to have your current play selection "follow you" to another room/player.
Cons

  • Wife thinks Spotify app is easier to use. She may be right, but native apps (Spotify and Tidal) have less features.
  • There are a few wonky things with the software. None prevent playing of albums or playlists in any way or with any delay at all.   I have some issues in adding songs to playlists as I explore the vast universe of music. I can’t seem to add a song to a playlist that I’ve just dumped into my play queue. Instead, I have have to have the album open for that song to add it to an already saved playlist. Kind of odd.
I have not tried other hardware streamers, so I cannot comment on them. WHAT HiFi? gave the Node2 a strong review so for 500 clams, I popped for it and haven't looked back.  It's increased my digital playback from about 30% of my total listening to about 50%--the remainder has always been vinyl.

Finally, please note that I’m a vinyl lover and I have far more money invested in vinyl playback than digital (about a 3:1 ratio--vinyl : digital. And, I love my Bluesound Node 2.
randyhat OP
156 posts
 
Thank you guys, this is very useful information.  I ordered the Bluesound Node 2 today.
mdelrossi1
79 posts
 
Which color? ;)

zek4u
45 posts
 
These devices are not all the same. I’ve had many: Dell netbook, Apple airport, sotm tx-USBexp with its own psu and others. You should have heard how bad the Dell netbook sounded. It’s garbage in, garbage out. I say, start with clean bits. I now have a Micro Rendu and have an Aries Mini on the way. It really amounts to the vendors USB/Motherboard implementation. These things pick up EMI/RFI and need good jitter performance or you will play the add on game.

My guess is that a Lumen/Aurender/MR/SOtM sMS-200 will beat a Aries Mini or a Blue Sound because of their motherboard/USB implementation. It’s also system dependent and what you might be hearing is colorization.
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