Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
183
Yeah, but that’s not the way it works. Almost everything these days is handled by what we used to think of as a general-purpose computer, running a dedicated program, because it’s easier and cheaper that way. Look at the XMOS USB chip, for instance. USB Audio Class 2 is a fairly sophisticated protocol, and I think it would be hard to support with dedicated hardware.
But with Ethernet, it’s worse. It’s not really just some kind of Ethernet-to-S/PDIF conversion. You’d have to handle multiple protocols to satisfy the various client softwares people use, and even if you only support Roon, you’d need to license the Roon SDK and get it certified, etc. So we’re already way above the data link layer. It’s a general purpose computer, even if the owner can’t get at it.
If you don’t count Bluesound’s inexcusable lack of response to these problems over the years, then yes, as of the current release all problems reported in this thread would seem to be resolved.
Over the past year I’ve seen 99.9% of my Bluesound/Roon issues go away. As @c2c2c2 correctly stated neither party has ever really commented on this. During the same time period I changed my home network setup in various ways. So … it’s looking good but I can’t really tell.
I have a Node2i using optical out to a DAC in my integrated MacIntosh and I am happy with it. It is also set up with analogues to the same integrated and the DAC sounds much better.
To my ears it sounds great through the DAC (and ok through the analogues), so I certainly don’t have the sense that the Node has influenced the quality of the data in the digital domain. Your mileage may vary.
In any case… I would think any quality issues with passing through a digital stream to a DAC is far more influenced by your wifi/network than the particular streamer provided it can receive the signal at the desired bitrate. Perhaps a more talented geek may provide a better assurance?
Yes no suggestion otherwise… and given I can hear the difference it most likely means it was not ‘processed’ in any way within the node circuitry… it hasn’t been decoded to analogue and repackaged to digital or any nonsense and thus is arriving to the Mac DAC in the same code of 1-0’s that it left the server.
I suppose one could suggest some loss through various steps of the transom, but the signal is arriving, and is decoded without issue by the external dac… what would be the argument that it has changed from source? And why would one assume it happens in the node rather than the myriad of routers and switches that happened earlier in the journey from A to B?
I’m not sure I’m following your point, but that’s OK. If you send digital from your Node 2i to your MacIntosh, you are using your McIntosh DAC. If you send analog from your Node 2i to your MacIntosh, you are using your Node 2i DAC. That is the difference in sound quality, nothing else. Passing a digital signal through your Node 2i does not affect the sound quality.
No worries… that may be because I came in late to the conversation. I was originally replying to @Serk_Psora who asked, paraphrasing, whether a Node2i would be ok in a 10K system if using the coax out.
I agree with you… that the Node 2i is not going to significantly influence the quality of those bits and bytes unless it uses its (presumably inferior) DAC to bring them out of digital and into the analogue domain. (or at least it shouldn’t influence that signal any more than the myriad of switches and routers it passes through in the digital domain on the way from Tidal/Qobuz to your house, then node, then DAC)
I was providing my experience that yes, the two DACs sound very different, suggesting that the COAX/Optical pass through happens without any “inferior” Node processing.
I guess I failed to mention (the most important point) that I have also had a direct coax to the MAC from my core and it sounds the same as the Node Optical/Coax (thus using the MAC DAC)… and both miles different than the Node analogue outs (Node 2i DAC).
Sounds good.
Unfortunately, I have the problem that there are always “scratches” in the sound. Both from the Mac Book Pro i7 and MacBook Air (2015, i5). If I play the same music directly on the Pulse 2i, or the Node 2i, with BlueOS from Bluesound, everything sounds fine. Everything is connected via Ethernet. I have no idea what to do. Since I don’t have a PC (NUC), I don’t know if it’s because of the Mac or because of Roon
i just installed my node 2i and it worked right out of the box. Because of all the early wifi reports i did decide to connect via electrical wires using TP Link box. I was also influenced by my experience of an early adopter Sonos user over wifi.
Overall this is a great solution for me to disperse audio throughout my home and group zones with my Lumin D2 which is in my main listening area. And for $500 it is a much cheaper solution that adding Lumin D2s in all my separate listening areas.
Finally, with the combination of Roon and Bluesound, i have a much better solution then Sonos. I am never going back.
Yes, it all works. But unfortunately, after countless attempts I still have the problem that the sound crackles (interuption)
As with a radio station that does not sound 100% clean.
And my network, whether LAN or WLAN, I exclude in the meantime.
Roon - MacBook Pro → Denon AVR - fine
No, the device is fine. Only BlueSound WITHOUT Roon runs perfectly.
I just found out something new.
The connection via Airplay is much better. Now and then a crack. but much better than before.
I have connected a Netgear router to my FritzBox Cable. Then I connected my MacBook Air (RoonCore) directly to the Node 2i via Netgear router. Works perfectly. But my network is now a mess
I can not leave it like this works perfectly. But my network is now a mess
I can not leave it like this
This is how it looks at the moment. I hope that is the problem.
But it could also be that ROON has a problem with the Fritzbox Cable
Because all (!) other programs do not have any problems?
From which side do you look at it now?
30 min later:
And now there is the latest news.
The Netgear router is in the same address range with the FBox. And then there is problem again. For me as Lai this means I need a network extra for audio
