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Any advantage to Bluesound Node 2i Versus Streaming from PC

I'm trying a loaner Bluesound Node 2i streamer which salesperson said will sound better than streaming from my PC.  I doubted this since both are just feeding a digital signal to my Amp.  It's just zeros and ones right?   I have the Bluesound connected with a decent (not high end) digital coaxial cable to my Lyngdorf 3400.  The PC is connected with a cheap USB cable to the same Lyngdorf.  The sensitivity of both inputs is set to 0dB.  The bluesound is set to fixed volume and the PC volume is set to max.  I am playing Tidal through both input devices.  I am trying to discern if there is any difference in sound quality.  When played through the amp the bluesound volume is a whole lot louder than the PC.  I have not found a way to level match the two inputs for comparison.  The bluesound sounds good and is a lot louder per any particular volume setting on the amp.  Does this mean the Bluesound is sending a better signal to the amp?  Is the  coaxial cable a better medium to transmit the  audio signal?  Is this the reason it's louder?  Could the Tidal feed through Bluesound be better than the Tidal Desktop app on my PC?  I need some help as I have to decide by Saturday whether to keep the Bluesound or return it. Other than sound quality there are only minor advantages to owning the Bluesound which don't warrant the purchase.  My amp has a built in streamer but no built in Tidal (which is the reason I'm using the PC.)
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jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
node 2i is an excellent unit - does a lot for the modest cost, does it quite well
- terrific user interface (yes roon is better but you pay yet more $ on top of streaming service cost... how much do you value metadata and integration of stored music vs streamed??)
- roon and mqa capable
- very capable pretty jitter free, nice sounding bitstream to feed outboard dacs
- nice form factor, well built
- can be one box streamer and dac for those not too picky on analog out sound quality
- can do multipoint/multiroom with ease within its well designed ecosystem

that being said, know the limitations:
- onboard dac is obvious weak point - smoothed over, lazy sound, tuned to be innocuous, sacrifices overall clarity transient response PRAT
- no usb digital output to drive some DACs which perform best using usb input
- gives a false sense of mqa SQ due to poor onboard dac - much better used for first unfold, let you outboard dac (or roon) do the rest

i have tested the node 2i bitstream SQ against more expensive streamers from innuos, brooklyn, lumin - sq depends greatly on receiving DAC... deltas are modest/marginal at best, and other streamers have their issues with convenience, sq, and user interface as well
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
node 2i is an excellent unit - does a lot for the money, does it well
- terrific user interface (yes roon is better but you are extorted for more $ on top of a streaming service... how much do you value metadata and integration of stored music vs streamed??)
- roon and mqa capable
- very capable bitstream to feed outboard dacs
- nice form factor well built
- can be one box streamer and dac for those not too picky on sound quality
- can do multipoint/multiroom with ease

that being said, know the limitations:
- onboard dac is obvious weak point - smoothed over, lazy sound, tuned to be innocuous, sacrifices clarity transient response PRAT
- no usb digital output to drive some DACs who perform best using usb in
- gives a false sense of mqa sq due to poor onboard dac - much better used for first unfold, let you outboard dac (or roon) do the rest


phill55's avatar
phill55
140 posts
 
jss49:   no usb digital output to drive some DACs which perform best using usb input? I think better sound quality from BlueSound Node 2i to DAC should go through the Coax port IMO, not USB - more bandwidth. But question of onboard DAC streaming to something like Audio Mirror DAC, does the 2i DAC chip supercede the Audio Mirror DAC?
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
@phill55

to answer you, no it would not

the node 2i digital output stream would be received by your audio mirror dac, which then converts the bits and filters to reassemble the analog signal

the second order issue is the FREQUENCY of the bitstream sent by the node -- it can vary from cd quality 44.1 khz, all the way up to super high bitrates like 386khz in most extreme ’hi-res’ digital... but my understanding (i am sure others will correct me if i am wrong), that for instance, in the case of MQA, the first ’unfold’ occurs to a 96 khz bitrate, which, then, if transmitted to an mqa-able dac, would then be further converted and filtered to final MQA resolution and SQ by said DAC
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
My Lyngdorf amp has built in streamer but does not handle Tidal or any streaming service with MQA quality. The amp is listed as “Roon ready” and Roon shows up as one of the inputs.  If I had Roon does this mean I can stream directly to the amp without going through my PC as I’m doing now?  If so what are the advantages?  I’m not terribly concerned about managing an off line library though I have some cd quality music I’ve purchased over the years. I mainly listen to Tidal. Can anyone explain how this works or provide any tips?  I hope this question is not too elementary for this forum. 
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