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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
corelli
975 posts
 
I'll stand by my comments.  I like the shiny disc.  I like the jewel case.  I've never lost data.  Yes, a CDP can break.  It can also be repaired much more easily then the above members gear. (Heck, I can do most repairs myself.  Pretty easy to install a new transport.)  And yes, I could lose my CD's--but the odds are far less of that than losing your collection on a computer based system.  The thought of ripping all my CD's once, let alone twice has no appeal for some of us.  So I'm a happy dinosaur. 
                                                                                                 
I work with computers all day long, non-stop.  I am all too familiar with what happens when they go down.  I've been a victim of cyber crime.  I've been the victim of multiple date breaches.  Do you think your medical records, investments are secure.  Hardly.  And then there were all those hundreds of pics of a European vacation that were all lost due to an errant click.
               

There are some things I love computers for.  So I have no grudge here.  I just have no desire to jump on board a technology that I doesn't serve my needs.  
davekayc
173 posts
 
I would get the new one on a discount anyways. Unless youre too angry . Been there ,you buy one or two each of the big three. Then you go to mercedes after your done playing games. 
zkidd
103 posts
 
I am behind on replying so my apologies. When I was referring to the Rolls and the service, I was not responding to the possibility of anything breaking but rather to the service provided by them if something does go wrong. I was under the impression that this thread was rather a two part piece; the part about fixing the Bluesound and another about the poor customer service of Bluesound. I was addressing the poor customer service the OP received. 
My apologies for getting things confused...
ianrmack
227 posts
 
@correlli - I hear you, man...but let me just say...when I discovered "HR" tracks on Qobuz and could integrate that with the Bluesound app on my iPad to the Node 2i to a Chord Qutest DAC. I just about pissed myself with glee.

One "touch of a button" and I pick from 25+ Dead and Co. live shows in HR.
Then swap over in 5 seconds to a Wilco album.
Then fickley just surf s--- to find and suddenly cue up a live Pink Floyd album I never knew existed...in HR and sounding SO SO good....

It’s a real toy that makes incredible music happen at your fingertips.
Plus, it s a fraction the cost of CDs.
thielrules
160 posts
 
I believe your playlist are not lost as they remain with the streaming service. Anything hooked up to the internet with a cable has the risk of being zapped by lightning. Only thing equal or better in price would be raspberry pi with a dac.
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