Anybody tried the Bluesound music server ?

I'm interested in the Bluesound music system, storage and streamer, would do a sound room and garage setup. Tital would be the streaming network.

Anybody have or try this gear out ?

 

Love my Bluesound node 2. Streams tidal, tunein(radio stations), local and NAS Music.
Really good DAC.

 

Thanks. I was thinking about the node 2 for the garage and vault 2 for the main system. I would be able to access the vault from the garage.

Did you setup your system yourself ?

 

I have Vault 2, and two Node 2. I use a Schiit Gungnir non GUMBY on the Vault 2 on the main rig. Sounds very good stock however. I love being able to play the same (or different) tunes on each stereo. I use TIDAL hifi as well. Sounds very good. Totally glad I bought these.

 

I'm currently using a Node 2 w/ internal DAC and it sounds great in my dedicated music room. I also have Sonos throughout my house which is great but the Bluesound gear does sound better, especially with quality files.

 

Bluesound seems like the best turnkey solution out there (no real experience first hand), but I'd consider the pros and cons of using Roon Labs. Less plug and play but ultimately has a higher ceiling and more choices (which has the potential for better quality).

 

All I ever hear are good things about the Node.

 

Yea, I set it up myself stoopid simple, except for the network share on my Synology NAS. I had to go back and for the to find the proper path. But I've always run a mac where paths are pretty much non existent from the users view in day to day operations. there is a limit on the size of the artwork, so some of my albums don't have artwork shown in the browser. Ill get to that when I'm feeling more OCD .

Enjoy!
mdr

 

Boy can I relate to this! I happily enjoy my music on my server until I notice ten or twenty albums missing their artwork. Time to get to work!

 

Node 2 owner. It's a great streamer. All my FLAC files stream gapless from shared usb drive on my router. Never a dropout.

 

I will be using Tital and the Roon system. Have lots of higher end DAC's too, will try them in time.
One question, A friend said that the more I stream the more my provider ( Shaw ) will charge me per month, something about giabits used, anybody know if thats true ?

Thanks for all your help.

 

I had the original node. It jumbled my artwork, and occasionally had to re-index my entire library for unknown reasons. They were good about updating software to add features but could never fix the issues I had so I got rid of it. I know others had the same issue I did with the first gen, but seems like they fixed it for the second.

 

node 2 user here too....sound of the dac is good and super easy to set up

 

I ran Roon through a Node 2 as part of a free trial and was impressed by it, but ultimately decided to not continue. The reason was solely due to cost benefit of Roon for one room of the house.

Take $10 per month for Roon, $20 for Tidal, $15 for Apple Music (family plan plus Sonos), SXM Radio, cable, etc., and pretty soon you're talking real money. Roon was the most limited service so I cut it and rarely miss it.

Once Bluesound fully integrates Airplay 2, I'll be doing an A/B comparison of Apple Music vs Tidal. If the differences are "close enough" I might ditch Tidal since I view streaming as the equivalent of the Public Library for music I'd like to hear but likely won't buy. There is also a rumor that Apple Music may make themselves directly accessible as they do with Sonos, which would be a game changer.

 

I have had a Node 2 for about a year and I like it.. The Bluesound user interface is easy to use and I bought an inexpensive tablet from Amazon to use as a dedicated controller that always stays in the listening room. I thought the unit's dac is good, but I bought an eternal tube dac.. I spend most of my time listening to music in this format because the sound is equal to a cd and I like the ease of use of switching between artists, songs ect.

 

That depends on your internet provider, best to ask them. Only the data that comes from Tidal or other outside sources goes through your internet connection, all local media doesn’t and won’t be added to your Internet useage.

 

2 original nodes here. Have been running flawlessly for a year and a half.
They send frequent updates which is good.

 

Thanks for that info.
Where I live , Canada, Roon is only offered as a one time fee of $500.USD or about $700.CDN for a life time subscription.
It all seems pretty pricy :
Bluesound vault 2 1495.
Bluesound node 2 595.
Luxul 1200 router 275.
Apple I-pad 485.
Roon subscription 700.
Calibration & install 285.
Cables & cords 300. as quoted by installer
Tax 207.

Total 4332. + 20. per month for Tital all prices CDN
Have I missed anything ?

 

Subscriptions not related to your rig - cable/sat TV, Netflix, sat radio, and so on.

 

Hold on there, why don’t you just start with a Node2 and see how you like it before you go whole hog.

I don’t understand why you would need a few things on the list

“Calibration and install”? Like I said it’s stoopid ( misspelled on purpose) easy.

Luxul router, don’t you already have a router, you’re on the internet?

Apple iPad, although nice, you could, and I do sometimes just use my phone(iPhone) or any inexpensive tablet, laptop etc.


As far as cords goes well that’s up to you, but if I was just testing, I’d just use whatever I had lying around, and looking at you profile, you must have some lying around.

Doesn’t Roon have a trial in Canada?
I’ve looked at it, it looks like a great program, but Roon needs a computer on to run the core program.

You can get lots of help here, so I don’t see the need for an “installer”

Best~

md

 

Pricey compared to what?

Roon is available for an annual fee in Canada just like it is everywhere else. I’m in Toronto and I pay $149/year, IIRC.

You’re quoting full list prices. If a dealer is doing the “calibration & install” for you, he should either be offering a moderate discount for the components or doing the installation for free because that’s common practice and affordable for dealers.

Why is the Luxul AC1200 wireless router needed? If you’ve already got an Internet connection provided by Shaw, then you should already have a wireless router/modem combo as part of your monthly service. So you need the Luxul because you’ve got some wireless connectivity issues at home? If that’s the case, relocate the Shaw wireless router/modem for better wireless reception. Either that or buy a $50 switch/network hub and use Ethernet instead of wireless.

 

"Seems pretty pricy"WHAT

You need to put things in context tim.Isn't your Ayre CD player's retail price around $13,000 canadian and it only serves one room?

The Blue sound system will give you instant access to all your CD's and be able to stream hi-res down loads in both your systems.And all for the price of two of your Shunyata power cords. Correct me if i'm wrong.
One might think you've been enjoying too much of that happy juice.

 

My SBTouch has been doing it since 2011 for 200 bucks

 

I'd like to find out if a Bluesound Node 2 would bring me a noticeable benefit in sound quality over my Chromecast Audio. I run my CA into a Gungnir MB via optical and then on to my Yamaha A-S801 - I use it for TIDAL (HiFi acct) streaming only, no need for access to other sources. The CA seems to deliver very well for me - I have solid internet connectivity, no issues there. Otherwise, I don't have a need at this time for anything above that.

But if someone could reasonably assert that "oh yeah, you will definitely hear a positive improvement using a Bluesound Node 2 instead of your CA" - in my situation - well, then I'd probably consider grabbing a Node 2 and at least trying it out. But I've never seen that argument made, other than to see a few people knock the CA because it's inexpensive or otherwise not worthy. If anyone has experience with this, I'd love to hear about it!

 

If you continued to use your Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC, you'd have exactly the same quality audio. A streamer is just a streamer. It just sends the stream of digital bits to either its internal DAC or to an external DAC if you connect it that way. Because your Gungnir Multibit is a superb DAC, simply changing streamers is only going to provide you with a different app interface and perhaps more user interface options with the Bluesound app compared to Chromecast. Basically, when you've already got a great DAC, a change of streamer should always be about better software/control app features and functions. The sound quality won't change because that's what the Gungnir is for.

The DAC in the Node2 is very good, but not quite up to the high standard set by the Schiit Gungnir.