new to streaming- help!


Hi all-

I'm a long time audiophile but have always gone the cd/vinyl route.  I am trying streaming but having trouble setting up a Bluesound Node X.  Something about my wifi it doesn't like...I am enjoying Tidal on my Macbook, however.  Which brings me to a question.  Would I get better sound quality anyway if I just connected my laptop to an external dac?  Should I scrap the Blue Sound?  And if go that route, does it matter if I have my laptop connected to ethernet, or will sound quality be the same on either ethernet or wifi?  (Asssuming a cable from MAC to DAC...).

Alternatively, would it make sense to run Tidal from Ipad to DAC? Or does one need  a streamer like Blue sound to do that?

I'm sure this will get sorted out, but feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment.

Thanks!

Margot

mcanaday

If I am not connecting the Node X into external DAC, will I notice a difference between cd quality level and the premium (hi res) membership?

Good question, and it has a lot to do with the quality of the rest of your system and if it’s resolving enough to reveal the differences.  That said, the DAC in the Node is not exactly helping a lot, and that alone would point me to CD quality that doesn’t exactly suck.  If you’ve got a very good system and are able to position your speakers appropriately in the room hi res might be worth it, but I have my doubts.  My guess is you could maybe start with a Premium subscription and downgrade it if you don’t hear meaningful differences but don’t know if Tidal allows this so worth checking into.  In any event, here’s hoping you finally get the IT monkey off your back so you can get up and running! 🤞🤞🤞.

Don’t go back to PC.  USE Ethernet cable.  Reboot.  And u should be good to go