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BlueSound Stinks(!), anyone?

I am looking for your help.  We recently switched from Sonos to BlueSound to get higher streaming rates.  So far we have had consistent problems and issues(!!).  Specifically, about 50% of the time my and my wife's BlueSound app does not recognize the Node 2i's.  When I delete the app, reinstall it and reconnect the Nodes, we again have the same problems at least 50% of the time.  It is simply a joke of a product and I find we are not alone.  I have tried just about everything.

Also, when I go online to get help, I find that I am not alone and there is a tsunami of negative (to the degree of very hostile) comments about BlueSound and for the most part it is the same issue.  I have tried just about everything and I am about to simply trash/sell mine and go back to Sonos.  If I do go back to Sonos, I will also leave a stream of bad comments on every forum I can since going back to Sonos will represent a big financial loss to me simply because Bluesound is an irresponsible/deceptive company at my expense.

Alternatively, I just want it to reliably work.  Do you you have and advice and/or guidance to get Bluesound to reliably work?  Is there a better alternative to to get higher bit rates thank Bluesound?

Thank you in advance for your help.  Dave


butterman
r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
Sorry to hear about your issues, frustrating I’m sure. Now we have had a Bluesound Node 2i just on WiFi, plugged into a Luxman receiver in our great room for about a year now. Everyone in our home shares it, except the cat, and it works just fine. Our first experience with streaming and we love it. Still have a higher end listening room in the house with analogue that’s not going anywhere. But this is great for casual listening and just can’t beat the convenience of a phone app. No problemo 
transnova's avatar
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transnova
350 posts
 
 No problem with any of my node 2i’s (5 in total).  I switched from Sonos several months ago. I did have a problem getting the original node 2 to connect to my Internet. The 2i’s have been wonderful. I use my iPhone 8+ to control the app.
rbstehno
1,401 posts
 
Bluesound is an entry level piece. If you don’t want to use Roon, and you want to spend little money, then get an Auralic mini with the DS lightning software. Outside of Roon, the DS lightning software is the best. The Auralic mini for $500 new sounded very good, I had that and it’s bigger brother the Auralic Aries which I liked better than Aurender  or Lumin units.
For streaming there are many options. I use Roon and audirvana on a dedicated headless Mac mini running in a different room outside my audio room and use a network attached dac. For all my other rooms in the house, 6 in total, I use apple 4K tv’s, Apple TV 3rd generation, and homepods. All of these rooms with Apple TV’s are good for background/non-critical listening. Anything above background music I’ll use a networked Roon ready dac.

mirolab
206 posts
 
I was a newbie to streaming and got a Node2i about 3 months ago.  I'd love to complain about their poor documentation, but there simply isn't any.  It's VERY frustrating to try to figure out the BluOS app, and the interface is convoluted..... BUT.... aside from that, it all works fine!
We are enjoying the 2i very much running optical into my Anthem D2V pre/pro.  What I like about this is that it's our morning alarm clock.  The brilliant Anthem has a Timer feature, so I have it turn on every weekday morning at 5:55am.  The Node2i has an Alarm feature that I have set to play an internet radio station at 6:00am.  So my wife and I can enjoy a German 80s NewWave station every morning while we get ready for work.  I think EVERY AV-Receiver should have timer functionality on it, but I only know that the older Anthem's do.  The analog performance is stellar too, if you just want to use an old Anthem AVM-20 as a general purpose stereo preamp. That's what I'm using in my other room.       
dougsat
366 posts
 
Also (if no one mentioned this) if you are a Tidal users, Tidal now has a feature called Tidal Connect. You can run the Tidal interface and play the music through your Node 2i. This is great for me since I am used to the Tidal UI and it keeps on improving. Better than the Bluesound software if you are streaming Tidal. 
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