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How good is Blue Sound Node 2 in WiFi vs Ethernet connection vs external CD player?

I'm considering purchasing the Node 2 in order to use Tidal in my external DAC that is much better than the internal DAC.  My objective is to have access to CD quality via Tidal in my external DAC.  However, my question is if I do not use a Ethernet connect but just use WiFi for streaming tidal, will the quality still be as good as my external DAC playing the actual CD's?
salc
wtf's avatar
wtf
307 posts
 
As @mahler123 stated .. the devil is in the details. I use the WIFI connection and find the sound quality is superb with Tidal and my own uncompressed FLAC library. Yes, I have a pretty robust internet connection and a good router. Rarely a hiccup. 

@arafiq  .. it's like any other component really (i.e., you can spend $20 or $20,000 on an amp, preamp, DAC, etc.). For me, the Node 2 ticked all of the boxes when I was looking for a streamer. The Aries Mini was a close 2nd. Bluesound's broad focus is to be a whole-house hi-res solution. Their products work great alone and grouped/synced together. I also have a Pulse Flex in my bedroom and will likely purchase another at some point. Would someone else be happy with an ATV or a Chromecast Audio? Absolutely. BTW, I have 2 Apple TV's and the Node 2 is much better to my ears. FWIW, I've used the Node 2 with it's on-board DAC, my Chord Qute EX, and my Schiit Bifrost Multibit.
mahler123
3,037 posts
 
I purchased the Node 2 not as a stand alone, but as part of the whole house Bluesound system.  Arafiq  asks a good question .  I would point out that Apple is discontinuing Airport Express.  I have a second generation ATV and have tried using it as a digital transport but It sounded muffled in comparison to the Node; perhaps the current ATV  is better sonically.  
  The Node2 DAC is really pretty good,, considering the entire component sells for $500
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 

Been using a Node 2 for streaming HiFi Tidal since March but decided to try a couple of external DACs to see/hear if it was the worth the upgrade. I also wanted to upgrade (or replace) my old CDP at the same time so I figured I'll find a way to upgrade the sound quality of both. Borrowed a friend's Bryston BDP-1 and ordered a Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus, both with two coax inputs. All else the same, the improvements were noticeable. I expected the BDA-1 to sound a lot better but the DACmagic Plus - oversampling to 24/384kHz, sounded real good so I decided to keep it. Hard to explain but in my system the external DAC added more "weight" to the mid/lower bass for both the Node 2 and my CDP. If my budget allowed I would have seriously considered a BDP-2.

arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,597 posts
 
@wtf  Assuming that you've done an A/B comparison between Apple TV and Node 2 in the same system, what aspects of the sound improved with the Node? There are not too many people who have used both the ATV and Node in the same system, so I'd be very curious to learn about your experience.
wtf's avatar
wtf
307 posts
 
@arafiq .. the Node 2 is more refined and nuanced with a better sound all around really. Apple TV’s resample everything to 16/48 which may be the reason they sound as though something is missing in comparison. Perfectly good for streaming Apple Music though.
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