[andycsb]

Hello.

Seeking some feedback regarding Bluesound Node 2 and Vault 2. Basing purely on sound quality...are Bluesound products competitive? Audiophilish or mass market?   

Thanks.

[PMAT]

I have a Note 2 and love it. Audiophile to me. Remarkable bottom end. Top depends on recording as usual. MQA sounds awesome, but, also depends on the recording. Will others beat it? Yes but not at $500 in my opinion.

[DSkip]

If you can find one, an Auralic Aries Mini is a much better sounding unit based off my customer's feedback.  Unfortunately the Mini has been discontinued so it might be difficult to track one down.

[JackD]

I had both the Node 2 and the Aries Mini in house at the same time and sent the Node 2 back.  The Aries Mini was a much better sounding unit.  A friend of mine tried the same and also kept the Mini.

[zoom25]

Are you looking for something with a built in DAC as well, or just a digital transport?

[luke357sig]

DSkip, has the Mini really been discontinued?  I haven't seen anything on this.

[pstrisik]

I have an ARIES and frequent the Auralic forum.  My understanding is that the mini will continue.  The ARIES and ARIES LE will be discontinued as the ARIES G2 comes available (at twice the price of the ARIES - five times the price of the mini!!).

[andycsb]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give your input. Really appreciate it. I will eventually be getting a streamer for tidal...that's my main goal for the not too distant future. Just doing a little homework for now.

[Wind Chaser]

If you can find one, an Auralic Aries Mini is a much better sounding unit based off my customer's feedback.  Unfortunately the Mini has been discontinued so it might be difficult to track one down.

I heard others say the same, so I bought the Mini. My dealer still has a few in stock.

[pstrisik]

I'm frequenting the Auralic user forum so asked Xuanqian (the CEO) about it.  He says:

No, it is not discontinued. We do have reduced the production quantity of ARIES MINI due to factory resource limit and I believe it is out of stock in some of the countries depends on distributor’s policy. ARIES MINI will remain in our current line at least the year of 2018 but we have no plan to release a new model.

[Wind Chaser]