Thanks everyone for all the good input. Tonight I discovered Tidal desktop app has a feature called Exclusive mode. It says “with exclusive mode Tidal has exclusive use of the audio device.” “This setting only has effect on Master and Hi-Fi mode”. Toggle this on and the volume goes up substantially to the level coming out of the Bluesound streamer and seems like quality improves too. All this time I never knew about this setting. I haven’t tried finding an SPL but with the sound Now audibly close between the two devices I’ve been doing some A/B. Very close between the two devices but I will do some more listening even though I will likely return the Bluesound for now. Upgraded USB Cable coming tomorrow. Thank you Amazon Prime. I also discovered the Bluesound has a very good headphone amp which adequately drives my Sennheiser 660s which are difficult to drive. This is a very good device which I would definitely recommend but seems it’s duplicative for me.
Any advantage to Bluesound Node 2i Versus Streaming from PC
I'm trying a loaner Bluesound Node 2i streamer which salesperson said will sound better than streaming from my PC. I doubted this since both are just feeding a digital signal to my Amp. It's just zeros and ones right? I have the Bluesound connected with a decent (not high end) digital coaxial cable to my Lyngdorf 3400. The PC is connected with a cheap USB cable to the same Lyngdorf. The sensitivity of both inputs is set to 0dB. The bluesound is set to fixed volume and the PC volume is set to max. I am playing Tidal through both input devices. I am trying to discern if there is any difference in sound quality. When played through the amp the bluesound volume is a whole lot louder than the PC. I have not found a way to level match the two inputs for comparison. The bluesound sounds good and is a lot louder per any particular volume setting on the amp. Does this mean the Bluesound is sending a better signal to the amp? Is the coaxial cable a better medium to transmit the audio signal? Is this the reason it's louder? Could the Tidal feed through Bluesound be better than the Tidal Desktop app on my PC? I need some help as I have to decide by Saturday whether to keep the Bluesound or return it. Other than sound quality there are only minor advantages to owning the Bluesound which don't warrant the purchase. My amp has a built in streamer but no built in Tidal (which is the reason I'm using the PC.)
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maybe I've missed it but do you need a streamer? According to the spec on your amp it has a "media player" which sounds like a built in streamer. At any rate there isn't going to be any significant sonic difference between a Bluesound Node and the bog standard PC . The Node is a computer peripheral masquerading as an Audio component. Part of it's budget went for a DAC which you will not be using. I have used a PC (MacAir) running Audirvana Plus at the same time as I had a Node in the same system and did many comparisons. They sound a little different, but my preference would vary by the track. Your dealer obviously has an agenda--to make a profit from selling the node. In theory the Node ought to sound better than a PC, since it is optimized for music playback, and PCs are not, though a Program such as Audirvana Plus shuts down the other stuff on the PC and tries to optimize it for music playback. I understand why the Node should sound a tad better, but it simply did not in my experience. With the Node one doesn't get dropouts as each new email arrives, and the BlueOS works pretty well to control things from a tablet, and there are other reasons to invest in it, not the least IMO that I don't like having an actual computer in my Audio System. If you spend much higher on a streamer, it will sound better than the PC. |
If you don't hear a difference then keep using the pc. I would not expect the Node to be better but it could be compared to some computers. Then there are a few purpose-built computers that is said to sound really, really great. Most streamers/servers are computers that are changed a bit to sound better. Here are some more tips about building a pc server yourself with some comments about parts that affect the audio quality. https://www.pursuitperfectsystem.com/building-the-ultimate-music-server---hardware.html You can also buy software to optimize your pc for music playing. It might be unable to do other things after, if that is a concern. https://www.highend-audiopc.com/audiophile-optimizer |
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