cambam007

They don't do Audio over usb I'm afraid. Coax, optical and analog for outputs

Tbh I doubt there would be a huge difference

Yes a thumbstick or ssd would eliminate the noise but also of note they are powered by the usb which also introduces noise. Beggs the question of how far to take it though

Item: bluesound node 2 Location: NEWPORT 3015 Price: $450 + postage Item Condition: perfect Reason for selling: moving to a Auralic Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD Only Extra Info: Amazing devices, if you have been on the fence,don't even think about it just get one they play anything you throw at them from a local source or Tidal, Spotify internet radio etc.. the diference between the 2 and the 2i is minimal and not worth twice the price, especially if you plan on running an outboard DAC. I was extremely surprised at the quality of the inbuilt dac and would say it easily rivals anything in the 1k bracket. i ran it with a 2qute and it opened it up but not so much that the ticket price justified the outcome. the app (android,ios,mac and windows) is snappy and user friendly..... i am really going to miss the functionality. there is a IR reciever on it that you can map to any remote so you can have premapped settings/sources etc at the push of a button perfect condition without box Photos: Advertisements without photos of the actual item will not be approved.

There's quite a few articles if you do a bit of digging. If it's physically connected to the streamer it will pass it on but going viia router decouples it. Mechanical noise won't be transferred over the network. Similar point is wifi vs Ethernet. Ethernet couples it and can introduce line noise but Most streamers don't have a decent enough wifi path so Ethernet is preferable

I recently read that usb direct to the streamer can introduce noise (mechanical from hdd operation) and you are best to attach it to a router. I have been using 1tb mainly flac with the node 2 and have had no issues with caching at all, maybe a fw release fixed a previous issue

I can wholeheartedly endorse the bluesound to dip your toes in, it is easy to use and sounds fantastic. the inbuilt dac is also very good but i ran mine into a 2qute with better results. the dac in this would rival anything under 1k I would say. The app is snappy and one of the best interfaces i have used. to answer your question no you are not better off with a cheap streamer and a fantastic dac, rubbish in rubbish out... a good dac can only accurately decode the audio, it can't clean up an existing mess. it all depends on your budget but the node is the toyota corolla of streamers, its dependable and can get up to 100 easily. it may not be a ferrari but also doesn't attract the price tag don't buy a lada, lower it and put some rims on it ...its still a lada there are plenty of options but for your first streamer don't even think about it just get a node. you may see the itch to swap it out for something in the future but you will be extremely happy for a good while. I will be putting my node 2 up for sale soon (pm if of interest) as i just purchased a auralic after listening to this lot,about to see what's on the other side of the fence.

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OH hey Mike Ended up selling the 2 Qute as i am now running meridians and they have everything inbuilt so had a bit of a clearout. I am still with the bluesound for now as one drawback of the meridians are i am limited to spdif in so the sms 200 and UR are out unless i go down the road of converting usb to coax. meridian have 218 which looks to be very capable but keeping my options open for now.

just looking at the specs xxv has no digital outputs? is this correct?

we are all cut from the same cloth that makes the sails of this boat we all share. yes i have progressed and evolved my system and constantly upgrade and tweak and i am at a point where yes i am happy but always looking at weakest links

my question wasn't really specific to those two models, theirs a ca for sale on here that peaked my interest but it rose the question as to what actually is reproducing the audio. once you strip away all the frills and use just the streaming side fed into an outboard dac would there be a noticeable difference. seems theirs two camps and no real definitive answer

ha ha this is the issue. i am happy with the bluesound but the thought entered my head and have to at least entertain the notion.

i enjoy how the bluesound just works and the remote app is verry functional. the 851n has a fantastic dac and pre that would both be bypassed in my case,hence my question... is it such a good unit because the sum of all parts bring it all together and if used as just a streamer be better than something like a bluesound.

Thats a extremely informative video but his bottom line was cd vs streamer and he noted the difference is down to network interference etc so brings me no closer really as im looking at streamer vs streamer bypassing dacs and pre amps etc. playing the same source file on different streamers via digital out produce different results