Anybody tried the Bluesound music server ?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Tim 2, Jun 25, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    The OP's DAC is an Audio Research DAC 8. I also have a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic. After the new source is settled in I'll try both in both systems and see what happens.
     
    MaxxMaxx4 likes this.
  2. Wired4Fun

    Wired4Fun Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Node 2 owner. I really like it. I am using the DAC in my Mac C47 as it sounds FAR superior to me.

    I did splurge for an iPad as a “controller”. Easier to see. Looks cool on its little stand, lol.

    Setup is plug n play. I did opt to hardline it for optimal playback, as my WiFi was causing some dropout or long load times.

    It’s a pretty great little device, imho.
     
    rodentdog and MaxxMaxx4 like this.
  3. MaxxMaxx4

    MaxxMaxx4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg Canada
    So you've made a decision to move forward?
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  4. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Fair enough.
     
  5. Bubbamike

    Bubbamike Forum Resident

    Sure they will store Hires files. Your music player may not play them back as HD but the files themselves are easily stored on a computer. To the computer they are just more files, nothing special. I have High Res files on my Mac, ITunes won't play them as HiRes but will output 16/44, I can stream them to my Raspberry Pi which has no issues with them. The same with HD video.
     
    gd0 and MaxxMaxx4 like this.
  6. MaxxMaxx4

    MaxxMaxx4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg Canada
    I learned something today.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  7. MacMan2007

    MacMan2007 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I had a node 2 for a few months and was happy with the sound quality. I moved to an auralic aries for one reason. I like to plug a solid state drive directly into the streamer (not interested in NAS or dealing with turning a computer on). Blue sound will do this, but it rebuilds the entire music library every time you unplug/plug back in a drive (and you cannot copy a file to it over network). The auralic allows you add files to a plugged in SSD over the network and keeps the library data if you remove the drive (rescans and adds just new files to library). I can also play files on the SSD/auralic on the sonos systems upstairs. If you don't care about this, the node 2 is great. I wonder if the vault has this limitation. But then you are close to auralic $ and my imagination says it sounds a little better . . .
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  8. Melvin

    Melvin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I was thinking of Doug when I posted. Sorry for the confusion.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  9. Melvin

    Melvin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    iTunes will play HiRes files without issue (no flac or dsd) but by default it plays at 16/44.1. iTunes does not change the bit depth/sample rate automatically so you must use Audio Midi first to match the file your playing. Of course, this is a big PITA and a mystery why Apple never "fixed" this. Fortunately, we have choice.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  10. Bubbamike

    Bubbamike Forum Resident

    Yes, you're correct.
    Mea Culpa.
     
  11. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Yes I have .

    Although I'm sure there are cheaper ways to get around this and still have hi-res sound ( better than CD quality ) and access all my CD's at multiple locations , I've decided to go with the my long time dealers recommendation's and see how it goes. They always make things right if I'm not happy .

    As you said Tom , when one looks at the systems total cost this is pretty cheap, or at least a lot less than a good CD player.
     
  12. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Are you starting from ground zero - CDs not ripped yet and no other music on hard drives etc.?
     
  13. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    The Node 2 internal dac is no slouch and quite good.
     
    rodentdog and Tim 2 like this.
  14. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Pretty much, but I've got about 700 of my CD's on my I-mac that I use to load the little I-pod that I've been using in the garage.
    When the installer was here to check things out he mentioned that I'd have to load my CD's onto the vault one at a time and it takes about ten minutes per.
     
    MaxxMaxx4 likes this.
  15. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I guess that's what I am concerned about. I have been managing my digital music collection for more than a decade, ripping carefully, getting meta data semi-right, images etc. It's real work. You can't do that on a vault. It's actually a very expensive NAS, disk drive, streamer combo. You will still need a computer to access it and fix the data. You also need to back-up the vault. If I was starting from scratch today I would probably go with Bluesound Nodes as the streamer but I would rip from a desktop to a dependable NAS with back-up. I would experiment a bit as I ripped to ensure the Nodes played nicely with the library I was creating - loading the album art, meta data etc.

    That way I could do the ripping, downloading and library management in a comfortable desktop environment, while browsing and playing the music using an Ipad. Finally, keeping the mechanical devices such as the disc drive and NAS separate from each other because one could breakdown and from Streamer which could last for years just makes more sense to me.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2018
  16. mdelrossi

    mdelrossi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn nyc
    This.
     
  17. rodentdog

    rodentdog Senior Member

    Don't get too OCD about it. The Vault 2 is great and all Bluesound components makes it easier to use. You need to back up any NAS including the Vault.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  18. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    FWIW, I had BlueSound back in the Gen1 days and though it is very good and I am sure the interface is better now (was a bit slow and kludgy at first, could take hours to index my 16000 songs or so). I’ve considered trying it again, but so far I am much happier with a Roon served by my NAS which is still my favorite music dollars in the past several years.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  19. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Good point, I will check that out on Wednesday when the installer's are here. :shh:
     
  20. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    2TB is an awful small hard drive unless you're going to do lossy. I also don't see on their site how you edit tags. It's a pretty rare album that I rip that has tags I find acceptable in tag libs accessed by dbPowerAmp.
     
  21. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Agreed. There is nothing wrong with choosing a Bluesound Node 2 as a streamer provided you don't care about playing DSD downloads natively. The Vault 2 is a different kettle of fish. In addition to it being a Node 2 it is also has a built in 2T hard drive and CD reader. Actually it's not even a real Node 2 because it's not Wireless! It must be hard wired which means installing an Ethernet cable - an extra cost.

    So what's a person supposed to do who wants to go Bluesound??

    IMO the Node 2 is a fine wireless streamer. But ....The hard drive (s) should be bought separately and plugged into a nice wireless router. The disc drive for ripping should be on a standalone computer that has a screen and keyboard so the digital files can be downloaded, ripped to the NAS. The desktop can then be used to properly tag manag etc. The digital library. I am far from OCD but a my experience suggests it is very important to do some database management.

    So... For the $1500 CDN a Vault costs it would be easy to get a pair of nice big NAS units (1 for back-ups) and a fancy new desktop. Best Buy will sell and install the desktop, router and NAS units, making sure there is a solid, well-functioning network. Any Bluesound dealer should be able to install a Node 2 wirelessly so it can access the NAS units in less than an hour. Add iPad for control and you are done.

    P.S. I am going to move to Bluesound Nodes myself and stream from my Dedicated desktop in the basement -- but I am waiting until later this year when I hope a 3rd generation will be introduced incorporating DSD support. I am really hoping they add an HDMI output so I can plug it into my Bryston BDA-3!
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2018
    Tim 2 and Melvin like this.
  22. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    That sounds about the way my system will be, but I'm told to get the best sound not to load my music from the I-mac but to use the Vault 2's drawer. yeah lots of work.

    The installer/calibrater will be here today, said it takes about 4 hours.
     
    MaxxMaxx4 likes this.
  23. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Here's hoping all goes well! Looking forward to a report back.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  24. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Four hours to connect a BlueSound Vault? I must be missing something! Hope you’re not paying by the hour!
     
    Spitfire likes this.
  25. Apesbrain

    Apesbrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Coast, USA
    Probably true since you likely originally ripped the CDs into a compact lossy format for your portable. Vault2 will rip to lossless FLAC (same audio quality as original CD). If you want to temporarily have your lossy library available while you re-rip the CDs, ask your installer if that is possible. He can probably copy them to a separate folder on your Vault2 that can later be deleted.
    List of stuff being done is here. Four hours is not unreasonable given that there are always complications.

    OP, let us know how it all works out!
     
    Tim 2 and BayouTiger like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine