Moving up from a Node 2i

Running a Node 2 here for close to a year. Mine has never been 'flaky'. I'm specifically posting this in response to the previous poster who reported his was 'flaky'. I do not use the built-in DAC and have always used coax digital to an external DAC.

The Bluesound app is another issue altogether. On Mac the latest version as of the date of this post wouldn't load all my favorite albums so I had to revert back to an older version. The app uses a ridiculous amount of CPU on Mac and Windows which I'm guessing is due to the constant polling of the device. The iOS app also has a bug where it flips back to albums at the exact same spot (albums starting with C) so even if I've already scrolled down to albums that begin with with a letter further down in the alphabet, upon going 'back' through the UI the app has to reload all albums further down in the list alphabetically instead of returning to the exact same place of the album I had selected to view the tracks of.

However these are minor bugs that I can deal with as other streamers lack the ability to stream as many internet sources, or they have ridiculously high price tags.

This begs the question, why are you using the app on a Mac, or any computer for that matter? The Bluos app works great on a tablet. I was using a Samsung Tab A with great results.

Oz

I have the BluOS running on an Apple iPhone SE, a Dell Venue 7 tablet and an Amazon Fire HD8 with excellent results. No need for a computer?

I have also never had any "flakiness" with the Node 2 which I’ve had from almost the time they came out, (like 3 years now). Never had an issue with the updates either.

I run my Node 2 out via coax to a DAC. I’ve also have it hooked up though the RCA outputs so that I can A/B it’s internal DAC with the outboard DAC.

@ozzy62 

I have 4+ computers, a mobile phone and a tablet. It's nice to control the Node 2 from whichever device I happen to be using at the moment. Why limit yourself to control with just a single device? =D

I’ve been using a Bluesound Node 2i now for a few months and love it.  Zero issues with my $400 refurbed unit that I bought.  I stream Amazon HD, Tidal HiFi and Qobuz and they all sound fantastic!  
I’ve read that the Node 2i is superior to the Node 2.

I also read that the soundstage isn’t that deep and I totally agree with that, but beyond that, the 2i is fantastic.

I’ll eventually buy a better dac, and then a better stand alone streamer, but am completely satisfied with the 2i for now and will be for awhile!

@larry5729 ,you’ve only ever used 1 streamer, correct?  The 2i?  And only 2 dacs? ProJect, 2i?  Or do you have a BelCanto now?  Interesting that 6 months ago, you didn’t know what a dac was, now you seem to be an expert on the dac / streamer arena 👍