Network streamer for qbuz and Spotify

Van Damme cables are popular on the forum. Yes, B&W are designed to be toed in towards the lister, instead of having them firing straight out in the room.

Edit, you do the opposite.
 
There better straight i found that with my old b&w. There so much better now much better separation and voices more central
 
I might get some new cable its over 20yrs old. Any recommendations
I use this stuff:

KabelDirekt – Pure Copper Stereo Audio Speaker Wire & Cable – Made in Germany – 2x2.5mm² – 50m – (For Hifi Speakers and Surround Sound Systems, Pure Copper, with polarity markings) Amazon product ASIN B01LFA7MHM
Or this if its "on show":

 
Very happy with that it sounds lovely to me. Just neex to track a centre down from somewhere silly prices on ebay. I paid less for the frts than what people want on ebay for the centre
 
My node2i has been rock solid the last 3 years, but after the lasted upgrade. Airplay begins to skips. I mean skips like an old CD player. Very annoying, so I’d advice to use Spotify Connect. It works like charm.

Whether this applies for other high res streaming services. I don’t know. Wondering if should get the new Node. If this model does not work as it should, I’ll return it back to the shop.

Regarding the Node2i, I’d advice to hardwire it. Don’t use WiFi. Then it’s more unstable. At least on my setup. When hardwired it works perfect, well almost. Not Airplay.

Speaking of WiFi, some don’t have no problems. But I seem to read if you like to stream in high res, the WiFi singnal must be on the highest settings. This you can check in the diagnostic menu.

Speaking to Bluesound, Spotify is hopeless. They have no problems they say.

Even considering Yamaha streamers in Node2i price class. I’ll see if it gets better after the new upgrade.
I have a Node 2i and have moved house. It's impossible to now hard wire to the router, so I'm looking for a streamer that will connect to and work on wi-fi. Does anyone have any experience with a streamer that can connect wi-fi (where the Node won't)?
 
I have a Node 2i and have moved house. It's impossible to now hard wire to the router, so I'm looking for a streamer that will connect to and work on wi-fi. Does anyone have any experience with a streamer that can connect wi-fi (where the Node won't)?
What receiver do you have? Are you using any iOS devices?
 
I have a Node 2i and have moved house. It's impossible to now hard wire to the router, so I'm looking for a streamer that will connect to and work on wi-fi. Does anyone have any experience with a streamer that can connect wi-fi (where the Node won't)?
Afaik, the Node 2i can be connected via WiFi. Are you saying connected this way it doesn't work?
 
Its never impossible to hardwire, just where the cable runs. I have a cable running in a conduit under the floorboards - don't attempt installation on the hottest day of a heatwave, I also use Powerline plugs and have a BT mesh system. I can get solid wifi in my garden building 25m from my house.
 
Afaik, the Node 2i can be connected via WiFi. Are you saying connected this way it doesn't work?
my time with the Node 2i hasn't been easy. I tried Roon, but that stuttered so much I just deleted it and went back to the BlueOS interface. WiFi connection was also intermittent, and ended up hardwiring it by drilling through two window frames and running cable behind fascia.

I have unpacked hifi today, set everything up and then tried to connect the Node via wifi. Nope - not playing. I've reset it, wiped all traces from the router, tried with a laptop, phone and ethernet to it from a laptop. It just won't connect via WiFi - which is frustrating given that several phones, a TV, an ipad, Dell XPS, and a Now TV stick all work great on a strong wifi signal within 5 feet of the Node.
 
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my time with the Node 2i hasn't been easy. I tried Roon, but that stuttered so much I just deleted it and went back to the BlueOS interface. WiFi connection was also intermittent, and ended up hardwiring it by drilling through two window frames and running cable behind fascia.
Jeez sorry to hear that! I've done a quick "Google" and it would appear that bluesound devices in general are quite sensitive to wifi signal dropouts etc. As @AgentOrange76 says you could try using powerline plugs. I've had success with these in the past. A more expensive solution could be wireless mesh too.
 
Its never impossible to hardwire, just where the cable runs. I have a cable running in a conduit under the floorboards - don't attempt installation on the hottest day of a heatwave, I also use Powerline plugs and have a BT mesh system. I can get solid wifi in my garden building 25m from my house.
Thanks for correcting me.

I cannot be arsed drilling, installing conduit, taking up floorboards for something that should just connect via WiFi.

After posting the OP about 2 hours ago or less, I went searching ebay for options. A Sonos connect came up in the search for 'streamers'. I have a Connect I'd forgotten about - it used to sit in a small gym and was used via 2 Yamaha active monitors for workout music.

Within 10 minutes that was happily connected via wifi and playing Qobuz and NAS songs through the A49 and Revel F208s.

Now - I'm going to get @ telling me it's only going to stream up to 48 kHz or something - but for now it works. In the future I will get maybe an Azur, or Arcam - when I can find one that offers good connectivity over WiFi with better quality than the Connect.

There is a wanted to buy ad on a HiFi forum - the Node 2i is being sold.


1641681494593.png
 
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Jeez sorry to hear that! I've done a quick "Google" and it would appear that bluesound devices in general are quite sensitive to wifi signal dropouts etc. As @AgentOrange76 says you could try using powerline plugs. I've had success with these in the past. A more expensive solution could be wireless mesh too.
yes - I looked at those 2 years ago and looked again today - lots of connectivity problems and the support seems to consist of "turn off the router, clear the router, reset the Node". Not helpful
 
my time with the Node 2i hasn't been easy. I tried Roon, but that stuttered so much I just deleted it and went back to the BlueOS interface. WiFi connection was also intermittent, and ended up hardwiring it by drilling through two window frames and running cable behind fascia.

I have unpacked hifi today, set everything up and then tried to connect the Node via wifi. Nope - not playing. I've reset it, wiped all traces from the router, tried with a laptop, phone and ethernet to it from a laptop. It just won't connect via WiFi - which is frustrating given that several phones, a TV, an ipad, Dell XPS, and a Now TV stick all work great on a strong wifi signal within 5 feet of the Node.

Another possible option is a 'Wifi to Ethernet Adapter'. Plug this into the mains, connect it to your Wifi and then connect the Node via ethernet. I've not used the Node, but I did this years ago to connect a PC in another room. I also set up an old router in bridge mode to do the same for my sister when WFH became the norm.
 
Another possible option is a 'Wifi to Ethernet Adapter'. Plug this into the mains, connect it to your Wifi and then connect the Node via ethernet. I've not used the Node, but I did this years ago to connect a PC in another room. I also set up an old router in bridge mode to do the same for my sister when WFH became the norm.
yeah - I have also got a TP link extender in the same room as the Bluesound - that cost me another £70 quid or so. The wifi card in the Node 2i is sub par - just do a search and you'll find plenty of others with similar experiences. I'm done trying to fix a problem that other products don't have.

Next aim is to upgrade the Connect with Arcam, Cambridge 851 or any other solution that connects over wifi properly.

1641761166791.png
 
I remodeled a lot of the interior of my 70s ranch house over the last 6 months. One priority was installing ethernet throughout the house. I added it to five rooms. If you have crawl space under the house it’s not difficult. I love the Node with a wired connection. I never had much luck with extenders. Never tried a mesh system.
 
Next aim is to upgrade the Connect with Arcam, Cambridge 851 or any other solution that connects over wifi properly.

I think the older Sonos Connect only works on the 2.4GHz WiFi band. Nothing wrong with that if it works, it’s what we were using successfully till 5Ghz WiFi came along.

But while the older 2.4Ghz WiFi channels allow less bandwidth/throughout (still enough for streaming audio) it does tends to work at longer distances and penetrates walls better than 5Ghz.

Just a thought, but if you’re seeing a good 2.4Ghz signal in that room vs a poor 5Ghz signal that could explain why the 2.4Ghz only Sonos Connect works better. Also check that your neighbours aren’t using the same 5GHz WiFi channel as you, as that would also explain why older 2.4Gz only devices work better.

Various WiFi monitoring / heat mapping apps out there for testing this sort of thing. Worth eliminating that as an issue for free, before buying anything new.

It could just be that you need to change the change the 5Ghz channel in your router to a less congested one. Or if that doesn't work and your router allows it, get your streamer to use a dedicated 2.4Ghz SSI rather than using the default dual-band SSI.
 
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I think the older Sonos Connect only works on the 2.4GHz WiFi band. Nothing wrong with that if it works, it’s what we were using successfully till 5Ghz WiFi came along.

But while the older 2.4Ghz WiFi channels allow less bandwidth/throughout (still enough for streaming audio) it does tends to work at longer distances and penetrates walls better than 5Ghz.

Just a thought, but if you’re seeing a good 2.4Ghz signal in that room vs a poor 5Ghz signal that could explain why the 2.4Ghz only Sonos Connect works better. Also check that your neighbours aren’t using the same 5GHz WiFi channel as you, as that would also explain why older 2.4Gz only devices work better.

Various WiFi monitoring / heat mapping apps out there for testing this sort of thing. Worth eliminating that as an issue for free, before buying anything new.

It could just be that you need to change the change the 5Ghz channel in your router to a less congested one. Or if that doesn't work and your router allows it, get your streamer to use a dedicated 2.4Ghz SSI rather than using the default dual-band SSI.
The 5ghz and 2.4 are both good in that media room. I don't get any issues with the Connect streaming, the throughput is fine. I can hear the difference between the node 2i and the Connect, but it's not an issue and when I find a product that is better and will connect to wifi (2.4 or 5ghz, router or extender) I'll buy it.:)

I have discarded the Node as wifi is terrible, and I'm not flood wiring the house with Cat6, digging under the foundations to run conduit, removing all the floors or drilling through five concrete floors just because the Bluesound won't connect over wifi. This is the second house where I've had the same issue and the only fix was using the Node wired to the router. This, plus the roon unpacking issue I had means I'm officially done with it.
 
I need to use 5Ghz radio band to get airplay to work properly. Bluesound supports says “reset this...

Thank god I have the opportunity to hardwire it. Then it works fabulous. WiFi, it works. But I don’t dare use WiFi. The diagnostic menu only displays fair signal then.

@eatapeach, so you can’t connect the Node at all to your network? That’s lame.

I bet Bluesound says... I want to tell them. Reset this!
 
yeah - I have also got a TP link extender in the same room as the Bluesound - that cost me another £70 quid or so. The wifi card in the Node 2i is sub par - just do a search and you'll find plenty of others with similar experiences. I'm done trying to fix a problem that other products don't have.

Next aim is to upgrade the Connect with Arcam, Cambridge 851 or any other solution that connects over wifi properly.

View attachment 1633188
That’s me. Yeah😊
 
The 5ghz and 2.4 are both good in that media room. I don't get any issues with the Connect streaming, the throughput is fine. I can hear the difference between the node 2i and the Connect, but it's not an issue and when I find a product that is better and will connect to wifi (2.4 or 5ghz, router or extender) I'll buy it.:)

I have discarded the Node as wifi is terrible, and I'm not flood wiring the house with Cat6, digging under the foundations to run conduit, removing all the floors or drilling through five concrete floors just because the Bluesound won't connect over wifi. This is the second house where I've had the same issue and the only fix was using the Node wired to the router. This, plus the roon unpacking issue I had means I'm officially done with it.

Totally with you on not needing to or waiting to dig up your floor to lay cables, obviously that normally solves any networking issues instantly, but it's not always practical retrospectively nor should it be an absolute requirement. A well configured modern WiFi network should be fine for streaming.

My point was that newer devices often default, or may indeed only connect, to the 5Ghz channel of a dual band (2.4Ghz/5Ghz) router / access point and that the 5Ghz band often has more trouble penetrating though walls to the other side of your house, either due to the nature of the 5Ghz waves or interference from neighbours on that band. Hence why older 2.4Ghz only devices like the Connect might work better in that room.

If you have tested that both your 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks are solid and uncontested (ie. your neighbours aren't using the same WiFi channel as you on either band) then I guess something else is at play.

But that fact that you has issues with both Roon (admittedly Roon is very network heavy) and the BlueSound suggest that your WiFi (possibly just the 5Ghz channel given that older 2.4Ghz devices like the Connect seem to work fine) might not be as solid as you think.

But if you're sure your WiFi is solid (via an app like Netspotapp or similar) then I guess it's just going to be a case of trying different devices til you find one that works with your network.

If your WiFi network is solid then I'm guessing you had similar issues with the BlueSound when it was placed near to your router / access point?

Your repeater is possible a bit of a red herring as the repeater itself (unless hardwired) will still have to make a WiFi connection back to your the router / access point itself, so will equally suffer from a poor WiFi network.

Just trying to be helpful..... I couldn't care less about any particular device working or not working, not do I think you should need to dig up your floor to lay cables. But what you describe sounds like a WiFi issue or a faulty unit — otherwise people would be sending their BlueSound devices back by the truck load, which doesn't seem to be the case.
 
A new and improved Wi-Fi receiver is one of the many upgrades incorporated into the new Node.
not wanting to open a can of worms re cables, but I recently acquired an Audioquest Cinnamon Ethernet cable and was astounded that the Node sounded even better. In disbelief switched back to the old Amazon cat 6 and my ears had not deceived me. It was bought for a new TEAC arriving shortly. Now I’m going to have to buy another Audioquest. Mysterious business, this digital world.
 
Totally with you on not needing to or waiting to dig up your floor to lay cables, obviously that normally solves any networking issues instantly, but it's not always practical retrospectively nor should it be an absolute requirement. A well configured modern WiFi network should be fine for streaming.

My point was that newer devices often default, or may indeed only connect, to the 5Ghz channel of a dual band (2.4Ghz/5Ghz) router / access point and that the 5Ghz band often has more trouble penetrating though walls to the other side of your house, either due to the nature of the 5Ghz waves or interference from neighbours on that band. Hence why older 2.4Ghz only devices like the Connect might work better in that room.

If you have tested that both your 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks are solid and uncontested (ie. your neighbours aren't using the same WiFi channel as you on either band) then I guess something else is at play.

But that fact that you has issues with both Roon (admittedly Roon is very network heavy) and the BlueSound suggest that your WiFi (possibly just the 5Ghz channel given that older 2.4Ghz devices like the Connect seem to work fine) might not be as solid as you think.

But if you're sure your WiFi is solid (via an app like Netspotapp or similar) then I guess it's just going to be a case of trying different devices til you find one that works with your network.

If your WiFi network is solid then I'm guessing you had similar issues with the BlueSound when it was placed near to your router / access point?

Your repeater is possible a bit of a red herring as the repeater itself (unless hardwired) will still have to make a WiFi connection back to your the router / access point itself, so will equally suffer from a poor WiFi network.

Just trying to be helpful..... I couldn't care less about any particular device working or not working, not do I think you should need to dig up your floor to lay cables. But what you describe sounds like a WiFi issue or a faulty unit — otherwise people would be sending their BlueSound devices back by the truck load, which doesn't seem to be the case.
thanks for the help - I haven't been 100% transparent - I have a background in network going back to Novell 3.11 admin, token ring management, and I now work with Cisco engineers in data centre moves and LAN/WAN migrations. I know a little about this area

My issues relating to Roon date back to running the Node over wifi and unpacking - somewhere there is a Roon support ticket around this.

Having got rid of Roon there were still dropout and freezes on the 2i. That's when I wired it to the router. No problems after that. It was within 20 feet of a strong wifi signal.

So - change house, new router, same problems with the Node 2i and working over wifi. It's fibre to the house. Deleted the Node entries from the router, toggled 5ghz on/off, changed 5ghz channels, tried an extender blah blah blah. My point is that other, simpler devices work where the Node 2i doesn't. I don't believe the unit is faulty - it accepts updates fine and it all points to the wifi support being weak. Do your own research but there is sufficient other evidence to suggest that the product itself is the issue for other people as well as me.
 

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