Any news on new Bluesound Node?

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Tom Bombadil

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Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« on: 7 May 2021, 10:32 pm »
Bluesound has announced that they will release a new streamer on May 10th.   Anyone have any advance info on this?

https://www.bluesound.com/bignews/?

I'd like to see the Node 2i updated with a higher quality DAC and analog output section.  Their current product is easy to use, has good features and a good interface.   But is more mid-fi in sound quality.  The Burr-Brown DAC is a lower-end chip and the analog outputs are pretty average.   Which enables them to offer the unit at a good price.   

Hopefully the new product is not just a combination streamer/amp.  I have no need for another amp.

jjss49

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #1 on: 8 May 2021, 04:03 am »
i think it will be a plug in hybrid... get you to starbux and back  :wink:

Samac

Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #2 on: 10 May 2021, 03:18 pm »
Bluesound has announced that they will release a new streamer on May 10th.   Anyone have any advance info on this?

https://www.bluesound.com/bignews/?

I'd like to see the Node 2i updated with a higher quality DAC and analog output section.  Their current product is easy to use, has good features and a good interface.   But is more mid-fi in sound quality.  The Burr-Brown DAC is a lower-end chip and the analog outputs are pretty average.   Which enables them to offer the unit at a good price.   

Hopefully the new product is not just a combination streamer/amp.  I have no need for another amp.

More info:

https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/

All new DAC design.

Cheers,

Scott

whell

Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #3 on: 10 May 2021, 03:42 pm »
Looks like its now multi room capable: https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/


Tom Bombadil

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #4 on: 10 May 2021, 05:10 pm »
Their FB release states: "Introducing the new NODE and POWERNODE, re-engineered with an even better quad-core processor, all-new DAC design and beautiful touch screen controls"

Powered by state of the art Quad-Core 1.8ghz ARM® Cortex™ A53 processor and a 32-bit/384khz premium DAC design.

The Node 2i had a 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor and a 32-bit/192kHz DAC.
« Last Edit: 10 May 2021, 09:26 pm by Tom Bombadil »

bacobits1

Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #5 on: 10 May 2021, 07:24 pm »
I got this in an E mail announcement,there is a remote now. Looks like it will work on an existing Node2i
Expected June 9. Priced the same $549

https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=preorder&utm_content=intro

Sorry, same as above link.

Tom Bombadil

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #6 on: 10 May 2021, 08:51 pm »
The Node 2i had a Texas Instruments / Burr-Brown PCM5122 DAC 32/192K chip.

The new Node has a TI / Burr-Brown PCM5242 DAC 32/384K chip.

For Raspberry Pi users, the 5122 is the DAC chip found in the "DAC +" board.  The 5242 is the DAC chip found in the upgraded and slightly more expensive "DAC Pro" board. 


jjss49

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #7 on: 10 May 2021, 09:05 pm »
more modern dac chip is nice

let's see how they voiced it

looks like no meaningful improvement in power supply... which is important for a dac's sound... we shall see (or hear, i shd say) soon enough ...

MikeInAustin

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #8 on: 11 May 2021, 01:53 am »
As a former owner, they have nowhere to go but up.

jjss49

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #9 on: 11 May 2021, 03:08 pm »
used as streamer feeding outboard dac, node 2i is just fine, works very well if you like the blu os (which i do)

the onboard dac of the node 2i was definitely low-grade starter kit... easily surpassed by other (even modest) units

Tom Bombadil

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #10 on: 11 May 2021, 04:59 pm »
used as streamer feeding outboard dac, node 2i is just fine, works very well if you like the blu os (which i do)

the onboard dac of the node 2i was definitely low-grade starter kit... easily surpassed by other (even modest) units

Agree.   I think the 2i DAC chip sells for around $3 in quantity.  The new one is a slight step up.  It does support 384K and balanced outputs, but the Node doesn't have balanced outputs.  It has better signal to noise measurements.  Perhaps there will be a small improvement from the analog outputs.  But as there were no mentions of improving the power supply or the analog output stage, I don't expect much of a difference. 

I'm not aware of any external DAC using the TI PCM5242 DAC chip found in the new Node.  Maybe something down in the $100-$150 range? 

I would like to see a Bluesound streamer with a better DAC, better power supply and better analog section.  It would be interesting to see what they could put together at a $749 price point.    But perhaps there isn't enough of a market to make that feasible.   I'd like to see a streamer from SONOS which offered higher quality.  These companies offer ease of use, good software, compatibility with many streaming services, but not high quality sound. 

As is, it does provide 24-bit streaming plus MQA decoding, but the benefits of those higher resolutions are lost unless one spends hundreds extra for an external DAC. 

Ice10

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Re: Any news on new Bluesound Node?
« Reply #11 on: 11 May 2021, 09:05 pm »
The rest of the world may disagree with me, and likely know more about the subject than I ever will, but I own a Node 2i and I appreciate that I’m not paying more for a better onboard DAC when I’m just going to bypass it anyway.  Same can be said for the RCA’s and power cord provided which can likely be improved upon by aftermarket options.