The Roon Ready Promise & the Case of the Bluesound 2i

For what it’s worth, I updated to the latest Roon (1.7) and the latest BluOS (released 2-3 days ago?).

Tested this last night and noticed that the truncation problem is still there. And, my Node 2i has trouble staying connected to Roon via Wi-Fi, when idle. When Roon is playing to the Node 2i, it does remain connected.

Anyway, I have to get serious about finding a replacement Roon end-point.

Sadly I suspect there will come a time in many Bluesound owners’ lives when they reach the same conclusion.

FWIW I found Lumin a good replacement for the Node - leaving aside any discussions of audio quality, I like their engagement on this forum and fairly frequent firmware updates to fix bugs or keep pace with RAAT developments. They are perhaps more tied to Roon than Bluesound are (particularly if you’ve seen the Lumin Android app!), which can only work in the customer’s favour. Of course, there’s plenty of other options, both cheaper and more expensive.

The Lumin D2 is on my list. I want a box that does both Spotify Connect and is Roon Ready (I use both with about the same frequency). I am also a fan of the WM8741/42 sound signature. I am currently using my Node 2i in my 2-channel speaker system with a Rega DAC which uses a similar DAC architecture (and I like the sound - a lot).

If only the D2 had internal Wi-Fi…

I would also have liked Bluetooth but I was content to compromise on both for rock solid performance and, to my ears, very enjoyable sound. Hope your search goes well!

Eureka… I have a Chromecast Audio puck. I will use that, which will support Roon, Spotify and even Primephonic is now Chromecast enabled.

Search complete :crazy_face:

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3 posts were split to a new topic: Bluesound Playback Truncation Problem

I’m using a Chromecast puck too, via optical into an old Arcam airDAC. Sounds fine to me.

I’ve borrowed a Node 2i from a dealer for a few days but it’s going back today. I noticed the same thing with the beginning of tracks skipping. Half-baked product. Avoid.

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Bluesound 2i are simply not Roon Ready. Contacted NAD support and that was confirmed. 2i is not listed at all on Roon Partner site.

Bluesound 2 is Roon Ready.

2i may work due to BluOs.

Yes NAD has sent the 2i product for testing but not done.

I found this after reading your other post. Sorry about the Nucleus, that sucked. Anyhow, I think wireless is difficult for HI-RES streaming at these price points. Even with the Chromecast Audio I had problems occasionally streaming wirelessly from Tidal or Qobuz. I think Sonos proprietary wireless might be the best thing for wifi streaming below $500 but it’s not HI-RES. I will be connecting an ethernet to my Node 2i asap. Thank you.

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I should have read this before I bought the 2i. I’m experiencing exactly the same issues as you.
Really dissapointing! :pensive:

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I had a discussion with Bluesoound support today regarding this issue (linked thread below). I can buy that it is somewhat network related, but what I can’t accept is that for whatever reason, I get a lousy network connection with a “dedicated” access point (only used by the 2i) that is located about four feet from the 2i. When moving the access point to sit right next to the 2i, the connectivity level improves to “Excellent” which makes wifi more or less useless.

In the end, Bluesound recommends me to talk to Roon, which is like buying a car with crappy radio reception and being asked to talk to the radio network why you get bad reception when it works just fine in your wife’s car… Really disappointing since I like the looks, sound and the fact that it’s all in one box.

Has there been any official statement from roon about this issue?

For some reason my 2i works just fine with Roon :man_shrugging:t2:

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Bluesound and to a certain extent Roon both deflect the extremely problematic issues with Bluesound 2i as customer-specific wireless problems. Easy to do, blame the customer or their environment rather than fix the problem. Bluesound 2i devices have real problems when operated wirelessly with Roon – there is simply no escaping this.

I noted on a recent Youtube posting that Darko (https://darko.audio/) has an upcoming review of the Powernode 2i – and he is a big Roon user. It will be interesting to see if his review is sufficiently thorough as to uncover these problems and then in turn if his report is sufficiently objective to report on them.

Ah. no, it really isn’t. Even a 100Mb connection is sufficient to handle 192/24 content, as evidenced by my Airport Express connection to both a Bryston BDP-1 (which works great with Roon) and the Node 2i using the Bluesound controller (which works great without Roon).

Sorry, but I am convinced that it’s a software problem or an antenna problem (or both) with the Node 2i.

I’ve ordered a Bel Canto e.One Stream from my local dealer and that’s the end of that for me.

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Sonos uses proprietary wifi tech. Airplay is also proprietary, your talking about technologies that are well established and have had millions of dollars poured into their R&D. I’m saying I do not think the wifi on the Bluesound is as fleshed out, regardless of the possibility of the bandwidths transferring that data.

Edit: Also it may be that in manufacturing they sourced different wifi cards (cell phone companies do this all the time) and one may be more stable than the other. Like @optimaxi , I never had an issue over WIFI, but I did just recently attach an ethernet cable because I’m OCD? This is all just stipulation. If it is a meh wifi card, a firmware update could fix the problem.

Hard to compare. The BelCanto is 3x the price. Not even in the same class. It’s effeing gorgeous though.

Yes, 3x more expensive, but easy to compare. I’ve already had the opportunity to play with a review sample, so I know first-hand it works flawlessly with Roon.

At this point, that’s mostly what I care about… I want to get back to enjoying the music.

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So. Let me get this straight: if I experience zero issues with the 2i, my review will be insufficiently thorough and insufficiently objective?

What a load of self-righteous twaddle.

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This is my quote for the day.

Not an options for me since what I need is an endpoint, dac, amp and speaker - all in one box. The B&W Formation series looks promising though.