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Bluesound Node 2021 DAC - I sold my Denafrips Ares II

I assembled my system last summer, after 20 odd years in the hifi wilderness. I’ve never been a vinyl guy, so wanted all the convenience of streaming, plus a CDP for my old collection.

I went for the latest iteration of the Bluesound Node - N130, a Naim Nait 5si and a pair of Quad S2 speakers, and Audiolab 6000CDT.

From reading various forums, watching YT videos, you know the script; I convinced my self that I needed an external DAC, as the majority view seemed to be that the BS Node DAC wasn’t very good. As I hadn’t owned hifi since the late 90s (Naim Olive) bi-amped system and Audo Alchemy DDE, I had no reference for how DACs sounded these days.

Anyway, in my new found conviction that I must purchase an ext. DAC, I purchased a Denafrips Ares II. Got it, plugged it in, and didn’t look back. I was content, it sounded good.

Then, about 2 months ago, I was fiddling around inside the Bluos app, with the subwoofer crossover, with a mind to buying a sub to supplement the LFs on my little Quads, and I had the belated brainwave to a/b the Node DAC and the Denafrips. I whipped out some spare ICs and off I went.

OK, I felt like such a fool, really stupid - I a/b’d for literally hours, trying to convince myself that the Ares II was night and day difference - it must be right? The Node DAC is sub-par, not good enough, mediocre, if things I read were correct.

But, in my system, to my ears, this wasn’t the case; I had difficulty discerning any significant improvements, certainly not £800 (£600 pre-owned) worth of difference.

I’m not knocking the Ares II, but in my system, the cost and the difference it made - and the difference between it and the much maligned Node DAC could not be justified sitting in my system at that cost.

Feeling like a complete tool, for rushing headlong in to the DAC game, I re-sold the Denafrips, bought a REL T5x and here I am.

I’m not going to look a further fool and say the Node DAC is the best, but i feel it is criticised unduly, at least the newest version at any rate.

Thanks for reading, I’m not sure this is a cautionary tale, but I just thought the experience worth sharing

 

 

128x128painter24
joshindc's avatar
joshindc
31 posts
 

Interesting. Maybe you've already answered this but would be good to know how you connected the Node to the Ares II. The optical toslink will always sound subpar so definitely avoid that. Then the choice is between USB and coaxial, and I've been told USB is the way to go (see 

)

I had a Bluesound Node 2i running into a Denafrips Ares 2 with a coaxial cable. Was about to upgrade to the 2021 Node so as to have USB output when I came across the ifi Zen Stream. I've had the Zen Stream for 2 weeks now, running into the Ares 2 with a USB cable, and I can say it's a very big improvement over the Node 2i: less noise, bigger/deeper soundstage, and greater clarity. I also have a LPS on order and will post a review/thread once that arrives.

In any case, while I'm sure the onboard DAC in the Node is good, I think you must have had some other issues that prevented the Ares 2 from outperforming the onboard DAC (unless you don't like the sound of R2R DACs like the Denafrips).

 

imaninatural's avatar
imaninatural
35 posts
 

@jaudio1 I have a Bluesound Node and it does actually have a USB out. Perhaps it is a different model than you are referring to, but worth knowing.

painter24's avatar
painter24 OP
307 posts
 

@williewonka thanks for your post.

I’ve recently started using an AQ NRG-Z2 C17 PC, which has made a nice difference.

As for ICs, we’ll, I’m a bit of a hoarder; I posted earlier in the thread, I buy used or stock clearance from that auction site. I currently have a pair of VDH The First Ultimate MKII plugged in, which I really like, they will be staying there for the foreseeable.

@joshindc ​​​​​​

I’ve never heard the Node 2i so I can’t comment on how that sounds with the Ares II. But what other issues do you feel I could have had?

I was using 1 of 3 digital coax RCA cables;

Wireworld Silver Starlight 7

QED Reference Audio 40

VDH The First {the first iteration of this line)

Regards

mas426's avatar
mas426
16 posts
 

One thing is for sure, those REL Tx5s are the best subwoofers you can buy for that amount of money. End of discussion. I have 4 of them for two different systems. Changed my audio world.

 

seanheis1
626 posts
 

Regarding Denafrips Ares, to get the euphonic hi-fi sound, I believe you need to select NOS and Slow filter settings. 

If you select OS (over-sampling) and sharp filter, you will get excellent measured performance, but it will likely sound like chip DACs that use default filters chosen for their linearity...and if that's what you want, you can buy a Schiit Modi 3 for $99.

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