Anybody tried the Bluesound music server ?

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

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  1. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    No 4 hours is not unreasonable for all that. Key is whether he finds value in having them set it up. If so then that’s the way to go. I would never let anyone else set up my system, but that’s me. Lord knows I set them up for other F&F and lots of times it less stuff than that and takes longer!
     
  2. rodentdog

    rodentdog Senior Member

    As I stated earlier, the Vault 2 can use Extollo 1500 powerline adapters ($75.00/pair) in lieu of hard wiring the Vault, no muss, no fuss. Extollo customer support is excellent if you need it.
     
  3. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Howdy
    Well, it took about three and a half hours with me helping, ( probably took longer with me helping ),LOL. Had to run two CAD 6 cables to and from the Luxul router, tech terminated these per length, had to run an extra power cord from the conditioner. Then set-up and calibrate the Vault, then dial that into my in-house I-mac ( that took awhile ), glad I didn't have to figure that out, the installer seemed a bit perplexed too. Ayre preamp/integrated amp had to be reconfigured for the new input. Then onto the garage to set-up the node and the I-pad. Also had to set-up an account with Tital, and change a few things around with I-tunes to make it all work easily. Some cables and cords that I will dress properly in the coming weeks.

    As far as how I loaded my CD's into the computer ( I-mac) previously , it has a side drawer so all were loaded into it direct from CD. No lossy format install from a portable, don't own one -Abesbrain_.

    One interesting thing, the garage system sounds very good compared to the bigger better house system, the house system is using the Vault DAC, the system in the shed is using the Node to my out-board DAC that I mentioned earlier. Not sure if thats the difference but I'll be playing around with every possibility to find out.

    On and up.
    Tim
     
  4. mdelrossi

    mdelrossi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn nyc
    Glad you got it up and working. What do you mean “calibrate” the vault?
    Are you using an external DAC in the main(vault) system? If not that night be the reason they sound different. The node I have is very close to the Schit Bifrost multibit DAC in sound, but different enough to notice.
    Good luck, and enjoy.
    mdr
     
  5. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Not sure what he did to calibrate the Vault, he had his lap top hooked up to it and made some changes.
    This morning the vault sounds much better, I left it run all night. Likely the Node in the shed thats running through an out board DAC didn't need run-in time as the DAC has already had lots of time to settle-in.
    Didn't need to purchase any new cables, also haven't purchased the Roon subscription so the overall cost was much lower than quoted. Not even sure why I'd need the Roon.
     
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  6. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Roon is very useful for streaming to lots of different subsystems. I stream to my iPad, Peachtree Nova, Teac HA-p90, Microrendu, Sonos Playbar, iMac, and a few others. It also does an amazing job of sorting out the best format for each device and delivering a usable format to the endpoint.

    If you live in one ecosystem like Sonos, or Bluesound, it would likely be redundant.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  7. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Your probably right, but I don't know what it would add to the current system. It all seems very interactive and easy to use, even for this old codger.
    I may change my mind in time though. :shh:

    Still loading my CD's ten minutes at a time only 680 to go.
     
  8. Diskhound

    Diskhound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    This would be a total deal-breaker for me! there is something very wrong here. I really don't understand why you need to re-rip your entire collection of 700 CDs . Is there something wrong with them? Can't you just copy all the files on your iMac onto the hard drive in the vault? I suggest an experiment. You have just started re-ripping. Your vault must be able to access the music on your iMac (I assume this is what the install guy did). Just pick a few albums and compare the old ripped music to the newly ripped music on the vault.I doubt you will hear a difference. If there is no difference then save yourself a crap load of time and just copy the iMac files onto the hard drive in the vault across the network. Or better yet .... Leave them in the iMac and use the vault drive for new acquisitions!
     
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  9. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Really depends on if they are ripped lossless already or not. I'm with you, if they are lossless then no need to rerip. I really would never buy the Vault, I would rather have a Node2 and a NAS. But I can see where it would be appealing to one that has no experience with the techie side of computers.
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  10. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    You can down load from the computer but the instructions and the installer say it's best to load by CD, sonicly. It's very easy anyway,I don't mind.
     
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  11. MaxxMaxx4

    MaxxMaxx4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg Canada
    It's so easy and i'm sure better to load a CD on a drive than down load from another drive,at least it always sounds better to me that way.

    Have a drink for me after work timmy,lol. :cheers::cheers::cheers:
     
  12. rodentdog

    rodentdog Senior Member

    You can also point the Vault to the Mac as a NAS.
     
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  13. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    So less of a “have to” and more of a “want to” for the cd ripping. I get and would do it myself at some point. A fresh start is t the worst thing that ever happened to a digital collection. Is it ripping flac files I assume?
     
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  14. MaxxMaxx4

    MaxxMaxx4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg Canada
    Don't know if it's a"want to"as much as,want the best performance.Do it once and do it right i always tell the engineers that work here.
     
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  15. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Same difference. You want it to sound it’s best but you can play your existing library. VS a closed system that plays a proprietary format.
     
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  16. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    And I bet they listen, your the owner.
     
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  17. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Correct, thanks for that. I'm glad to see someone here understands that I'm a music guy not some nerdy techie guy, I'd be on the wrong site if I was.
    Been busy working each day and entertaining friends in the evening but still managed to burn seventy some of are disc's to the Vault in the last two day. Hope to get a couple hundred more on there this weekend, if the rain persists. :cheers::cheers:
     
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  18. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Hey, I ripped mine to MP3, then to AAC, then to lossless. The nice thing about lossless, is that once you have it ripped, it can be converted to any format. I have a nice store credit and my local dealer, I might be back in the BlueSound ecosystem at some point.

    It is actually funny that at a open house night at my dealer with the BlueSound rep, I asked him why they decided to do the Node, PowerNode, and Vault in really goofy sizes (Sonos does the same) and asked him why they could not do them n a somewhat standard size that might be a half a shelf width or such so they would fit better in a rack. He seemed a bit baffled at the question, but then a few months later, Gen2 came out and they did just that, still left the controls on the top which is goofy, but at least they are in a much friendlier shape. They als added the digital input and headphone output. Since they already had an analog input, it is a very appealing package. I think the Node2 is the absolute best preamp you can buy for less than $1000.

    If you look at all the features of the Vault2, storage, connectivity, inputs, etc, the Vault is a very cool box. The price is high if you consider it s computer gadget, but in the preamp world, it would be a bargain!
     
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  19. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Good point. That is, pricy for a computer gadget but cheap as preamps go, or at least the last few I've had. But you still need a volume control etc.
     
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  20. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    it should have a volume control. You have to select fixed or variable in the settings.
     
  21. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Yup, there is a control but don't know how it would work without a dedicated pre ? And then there's the issue of inputs. I've always found a good pre to be a buffer against incoming rubble.
     
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  22. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    I've used both my Sonos and Bluesound units as a preamp with both an ARC D240 power amp, as well as a Parasound A23. My favorite use was connecting my phono stage to the Aux input so I could send the turntable to any room of the house. Bluesound or Sonos is by far the best way to power patio speakers!
     
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  23. MaxxMaxx4

    MaxxMaxx4 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Winnipeg Canada
    So when your buddies from the audio club showed up last weekend to scrutinize the new source was there a conclusion?
     
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  24. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    There was a couple conclusions we all agreed on. First, the sound from my library on the Vault was considerable better when burned from a CD than down loaded from the other three sources we tried.
    Second, Crown Royal tastes better from a tall glass being served by a tall blonde.
     
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  25. Doug Walton

    Doug Walton Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I wish the Node 2 had USB output. I’d have competing devices for my DAC’s coax input with the Node 2, and my Gumby has the Gen5 USB input thing that I use now with a dedicated laptop.

    Not sure if there is a downside to using a decent quality BNC to RCA interconnect, given my DAC has an unused BNC port? I’d love to hear opinions.
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2018
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