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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
woofman74
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.
jackd
1,079 posts
 
Used original Auralic Aries Femto will leave the Node 2i in the dust as would the lower priced Aries Mini.  There is one for sale on A'Gon now for $700.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9j02d-auralic-aries-wireless-streaming-bridge-media-servers?refsource=hifishark
mahler123
3,628 posts
 
Corelli
  I agree with you, I prefer silver discs to streaming for a multitude of reasons, one of which is ease of use.  Yes, CDPs can break, but I have had very few of them develop an issue, and when they did it was after years of heavy use.  Streaming resembles my IT system at work, where I might have to reboot my computer several times a day.  Actually, compared to that, my home streaming audio equipment seems remarkably reliable...
  so why did I get involved in streaming?  First, using a service such as Qobuz is a great way to sample new recordings.  I read many Classical Music review magazines and my shelves are jammed with CDs that were impulse purchases that I have listened to perhaps twice and now gather dust.  Now if a disc strikes my fancy I stream it first, and if I really like it I buy it.  Secondly, I live in a 3 story house with a system on each floor, and instead of having to run upstairs to fetch a CD I pull out my phone and stream it, if I have burned it to my NAS.  I have had two surgeries in the past 4 years, and will have knee surgery after the Holidays.  In each case I am confined to one level of my home for a few days and it’s nice to be able to access my music from anywhere.  And finally, one day I might have to abandon the home as to difficult to manage and I won’t be moving to a space that can accommodate 10,000 CDs
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,016 posts
 
I would suggest buying a Belcanto.  I can point you towards a dealer who could sell it to you for about $1,300 and save you $300.  He told me sound quality is much better than the Blue Sound.  I purchased the Blue Sound Node 2i to save money and added a Project DAC, but preferred the sound of the Blue Sound played by itself.  I liked the sound of MQA despite what others in this group think.  The Belcanto cannot play completely unfolded MQA.  However, the dealer I talked to told me the Belcanto sounds considerably better.
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