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Dead Bluesound Node 2

I have a Bluesound Node 2 that died recently and I'm wondering what I should do next. 
First off, it was only 3 years old.  I got conflicting reports from customer service as to what went wrong, but either way, it was working fine one day and the next day it would not respond and it would not re-set.  I have been round and round with customer service and as far as they are concerned, it is out of warranty, so tough toenails; they will not take it back for a repair.  They offered to sell me a new unit at a reduced price or a refurbished unit at an even lower price but somehow that doesn't sit right with me. 

My habit has always been to buy reasonably good gear and keep it for a long time.  It's also my habit not to reward a manufacturer with additional purchases once they have done me wrong.  I have never had a piece of gear fail so quickly.  I have never had a manufacturer tell me they would not repair or service a component.  This little guy was not abused, and barely moved from the time I plugged it in, so I don't think I did anything wrong. 

Now I know a lot of you folks love your Nodes.  Admittedly, I did too.  I used it almost every day, created dozens of playlists (which are presumably gone forever) and I even added a Qobuz subscription about 6 months ago.  I can't tell you how many friends I demonstrated this set-up for.  I was actually considering adding a 2nd unit for my primary system.  Basically, I was all in.  Now I'm just stuck. 

That's my tale of woe, so here's what I'd like to know:
Were my expectations for this component too high?  I understand that computer products have can have a short lifespan, but this seems a bit extreme.  So should I pony up for another unit?  Or do I try to save up for something more upscale and presumably better built (or better supported)?  Cambridge Audio has a streamer I think might work, but I heard not all streamers can handle 30k+ files.  I have actually heard several really nice units like the Aurender (at AXPONA) but that's probably out of my league.  So what affordable alternatives are there, that also sound decent? 

This is my first post/discussion thread here on A-gon, so go easy on me : )
Thanks for listening. 

WoofMan74
128x128woofman74
mahler123
3,031 posts
 
I am surprised that the Bluesound support didn’t mention factory reset, and Big Greg has shown the OP how to do this.  If the OP were to investigate posts from about 2 years ago he would see that I and others had problems with the units where they get hung up trying to do updates.  In fact, I now refuse to do Updates 
corelli
941 posts
 
Exactly why I do not feel motivated to move beyond my CD's.  All that work, here today and gone tomorrow.  There comes a point when technology is the master and not the servant.
ianrmack
227 posts
 
@corelli CDP can die, too.
CDs are dinosaurs. They are basically akin to putting in software discs in your computer to run an application.

Then we went to a server and ripped the files there.
Then the next ice age came.

Now we just use the cloud and stream from an unlimited library. OK, stay with CDs and keep taking them out, putting them away, cleaning them, changing them etc. 

So your tech broke...bummer.
Happens every day. But one used and move on.

mlsstl
1,379 posts
 
corelli - our world runs on computer databases these days -- your money in the bank, investments, medical records, and so on. The key for any of these data collections, whether yours, a big comany's or the government's, is backup. This even has an advantage over a CD collection. A fire, tornado, thieves or other casualty could easily decimate your CD collection. It is very easy to keep an off-premises backup of your ripped music, but very impractical to do the same with physical CDs. While I don't use a Bluesound, a fire could take down my entire house but my personal music collection would still be safe.
corelli
941 posts
 
I'll stand by my comments.  I like the shiny disc.  I like the jewel case.  I've never lost data.  Yes, a CDP can break.  It can also be repaired much more easily then the above members gear. (Heck, I can do most repairs myself.  Pretty easy to install a new transport.)  And yes, I could lose my CD's--but the odds are far less of that than losing your collection on a computer based system.  The thought of ripping all my CD's once, let alone twice has no appeal for some of us.  So I'm a happy dinosaur. 
                                                                                                 
I work with computers all day long, non-stop.  I am all too familiar with what happens when they go down.  I've been a victim of cyber crime.  I've been the victim of multiple date breaches.  Do you think your medical records, investments are secure.  Hardly.  And then there were all those hundreds of pics of a European vacation that were all lost due to an errant click.
               

There are some things I love computers for.  So I have no grudge here.  I just have no desire to jump on board a technology that I doesn't serve my needs.  
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