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Dead Bluesound Node 2

I have a Bluesound Node 2 that died recently and I'm wondering what I should do next. 
First off, it was only 3 years old.  I got conflicting reports from customer service as to what went wrong, but either way, it was working fine one day and the next day it would not respond and it would not re-set.  I have been round and round with customer service and as far as they are concerned, it is out of warranty, so tough toenails; they will not take it back for a repair.  They offered to sell me a new unit at a reduced price or a refurbished unit at an even lower price but somehow that doesn't sit right with me. 

My habit has always been to buy reasonably good gear and keep it for a long time.  It's also my habit not to reward a manufacturer with additional purchases once they have done me wrong.  I have never had a piece of gear fail so quickly.  I have never had a manufacturer tell me they would not repair or service a component.  This little guy was not abused, and barely moved from the time I plugged it in, so I don't think I did anything wrong. 

Now I know a lot of you folks love your Nodes.  Admittedly, I did too.  I used it almost every day, created dozens of playlists (which are presumably gone forever) and I even added a Qobuz subscription about 6 months ago.  I can't tell you how many friends I demonstrated this set-up for.  I was actually considering adding a 2nd unit for my primary system.  Basically, I was all in.  Now I'm just stuck. 

That's my tale of woe, so here's what I'd like to know:
Were my expectations for this component too high?  I understand that computer products have can have a short lifespan, but this seems a bit extreme.  So should I pony up for another unit?  Or do I try to save up for something more upscale and presumably better built (or better supported)?  Cambridge Audio has a streamer I think might work, but I heard not all streamers can handle 30k+ files.  I have actually heard several really nice units like the Aurender (at AXPONA) but that's probably out of my league.  So what affordable alternatives are there, that also sound decent? 

This is my first post/discussion thread here on A-gon, so go easy on me : )
Thanks for listening. 

WoofMan74
128x128woofman74
mahler123
3,257 posts
 
Welcome aboard.
I had a Pulse Mini die on me just past the warranty date a couple of years ago.  It died trying to do an update.  It cost about the same as the Node.  Bluesound said I was SOL but my dealer, whom I had been buying gear from for decades, prevailed upon them ,after several months of kvetching, to fix it.  We used it in the kitchen primarily to listen to Internet radio.  I also have a Vault2 and two Node2, so perhaps they factored that into their decision.  Meanwhile 
I had given up on them and purchased the Apple Home Pod to use in the kitchen, which interfaces with an Apple TV in another room in the house.  The repaired Pulse has been sitting on a storage shelf since it’s return.
   I am assuming that you tried the Factory reset option?  That will wipe out your playlists for sure but if you haven’t give it a go.
ianrmack
227 posts
 
Recommendation #1: Keep your "questions" shorter and avoid the monologue. Many people will simply skip it....;-)

Rec #2: What is your system and budget? If you do not say, then your replies will be all over the map....or non-exitsent...;-)
big_greg
6,620 posts
 
Try posting about your problem on the Bluesound forum. You may get a different response (or not).

I've seen a lot of posts about connection issues and have experienced some myself, but I think this is the first time I've read about one just dying. 
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