Any Bluesound Node2 owners

KGVeteran,

I originally had the Node 2i. Liked it so much I switched out to the PowerNode 2i to improve space restrictions and SAF. All I have are ELAC Debut 6.2 speakers (waiting on Zu DWs).  Nice compact system for limited space. Having great experiences with Qobuz. I am listening to more, and more varied, music now than I did with LPs.

Hi, I have four Node2i. In all cases I use external DACs and upgraded power cords. In addition one unit (to date) has been modified with a PCB DC power interface and a linear external low noise PSU. All these are a step up in SQ over SOTS. I use the digital coaxial output where I can then RCA (L/R) - depending on the DAC (my early R2R DACs are RCA only).

My set up is Node2i and, yes, a power lead upgrade which I’m pretty sure made a difference (but I hate to admit it); and a Khadas tone board as a DAC.  When I switch the Node out for a Raspberry Pi plus a Allo One HAT, the Roon experience is the same and my ears don’t hear a difference - but my wallet says “you could have saved £250”.

I VERY reluctantly tread into digital waters with the Node2--and much to my surprise was delighted by the "comparable to CD sound" I was getting as a suscriber to Qobuz (I tried Tidal but there was no question in my mind that Qobuz sounded much closer to analog than MQA on the same releases). I followed everyone's advice to get a separate DAC--in my case a Chord Qutest. And after weeks of comparative testing, discovered absolutely no difference from the Node's own internal DAC. Returned the Qutest--and have been a satisfied streaming listener ever since. I would recommend using an Ethernet cable rather than WiFi--noticeable difference in sound quality. Good luck and happy listening.

quintno

I’ve not listened to a Chord Qutest but it gets rave reviews. I have a Vault 2 and and in my system it’s night and day difference between the onboard DAC or using the DAC in either my Cambridge 851C or RME. I agree the audible difference between Qobuz and Tidal is there but to my ears the difference between DACs is more substantial.