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B.S. Node 2i brick (yet another one)

Mine died after 3 years, like so many others, ordered and replaced the caps (they looked fine) and still doesn't turn on. My problem is a bit different - no red light at all on the top, although I may have disabled led's in the setup, and I'm not sure if that setting carries over to bootup.. Anyway, its dead, does nothing, no lights, no network lights at the cable when I plug it into ethernet.

 

This POS BS company will discount me a whopping $75 on a REFURBISHED unit. This is pathetic service for a $600 piece of equipment. I'll never buy another piece of hardware from Bluesound. Audiophile gear priced like that should last 20 years imo. 

What would you guys do? Try and find a full power supply, or do the aftermarket upgrade? My worry is that my power board is fine and its the main board that's bad. I'm not sure how to test this. I did some high level probing on the power board with an electrical engineer, and it looked ok.. Is there a way to hard reset it via usb or something? Does the service button at the back provide any function?

128x128doug1234
marco1's avatar
marco1
522 posts
 

@doug1234 - hope everyone knows I was just being facetious.   Should have used a 😀

moonwatcher
465 posts
 

Just wanted to echo that the Zen Stream might not be the "answer" to the Node issues.  Many have mentioned that it has terrible Wi-Fi connectivity that is often flaky (even with a very strong signal) or even if hardwired to ethernet. 

Another issue for Tidal users is that some say it stutters on the first song you start every single time.  I can't have that.  I'm not THAT patient. 

Hoping iFi will either correct those issues or will soon come out with a "MK. II" version that does.  As I'm interested in using a better external DAC anyway, I don't see the utility in buying a Node with an built-in one I'll never use. 

Good luck in getting your problem resolved. Yeah, some might not consider $600 much of an investment, but I do. Items should last at least 2X the freaking warranty period at a minimum at most price points. 

plaw
89 posts
 

I had node 2i no problems.  The DAC was lamo, but good value for the money.  NAD must not advertise with Audiogon or this thread would have been deleted.

 

2psyop's avatar
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2psyop
1,595 posts
 

hey guys look at jjss49 comment. He gives a good perspective on the issue. With some help maybe doug can get this node running again. It’s frustrating but just bashing Bluesound does not really help IMHO. Any reps from Bluesound, help a brother out...

doug1234's avatar
doug1234 OP
23 posts
 

@2psyop OMG OMG OMG You sir, saved the day!! I changed the power board and it fired right up, so it looks like my failure was a little bit different than most - not cap related, but something else on the power board fried, maybe a transistor. Perhaps this will help someone else out in the future to identify how theirs has failed.

Again, thank you SO MUCH for helping a total stranger out. I owe ya one!

FWIW, I wouldn’t have bashed them if they gave any decent care to their customers. I got near zero support - this is not the BlueSound of old days. People need to be aware how they are treating customers now because I think they historically had a good reputation for support. But, clearly things have changed and they’ve sold out, changed management, are struggling, or whatever.

Ps- if the node didn’t fire up, I was going to purchase the Yamaha WXC-50 which looks like it has all of the features I’d need, and would be a healthy replacement.

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