Yamaha WXC-50 vs Bluesound Node 2 vs Sonos Connect

no_sound

New Member
Hey everyone

I'm trying to replace/upgrade my very old WDTV

I have upgraded my main amp lately along with few RCA cables.. Now it's time to dish the WDTV..

But i'm on very tight budget..

I have acces to the following deals:

1- Sonos Connect (not the amp) for $190 (no warranty)
2- Bluesound node 2 for $350 (used no warranty)
3- Bluesound node 2 for $420 (store demo w/ warranty)
4- Bluesound node 1 for $400 (new)
5- Yamaha WXC-50 for $350 (new)
6- Squeeze box duet for $40 (very tempting)

I don't think i will ever subscribe to any hifi service /mqa.. 20$/month is just too much for me right now.
i will look for free services w/ adds for a while until i get more money for a $10/m eventually
But i will need a service of somekind.

What i need the most though is to access my Synology NAS, mostly 4600 kbps rate flac (they're big, 200mb per file , can Sonos handle that ?).
Accessing folders must be simple and automatic. Has to be fully plug and play just like my old WDTV.
Everything will be hard wired.. RJ-45.. and connected to a Mcintosh amp..

I will use an ipad and iphone...

Those are my criteria...

Which route should i take ? :)
 
I haven't though about chromcast audio device.. i did though about bluetooth receivers...but there are too many steps involved everytime you start the music.

I'm looking for something more user friendly. (without pairing anything)

Also i'm trying to get as close as possible to an Audiophile quality signal. The mcintosh that i use only has RCA and balanced inputs.. I doubt an 1/4 to RCA would make a good signal.

As for the WXC-50 i was told that the sound is better than the Node 2. Is it true ? but it doesn't support MQA.... true ?

I've got mixed opinions.. some said Node2 has a better DAC while the rest said that WXC-50 is better.. since i can not A/B the two.. it is difficult to really compare.
The one place that i can demo the WXC-50 don't sell the node 2.. and the only place i can demo the node 2 don't sell the yamaha.

Is the WXC-50 a audiophile streamer ? I know for sure that the Node 2 works well with mcintosh.. but the node2i is slightly over my budget. my budget is $400 max max.
And preferably $200.. but i don't want to waste $200 either...
 
I haven't though about chromcast audio device.. i did though about bluetooth receivers...but there are too many steps involved everytime you start the music.

I'm looking for something more user friendly. (without pairing anything)

Also i'm trying to get as close as possible to an Audiophile quality signal. The mcintosh that i use only has RCA and balanced inputs.. I doubt an 1/4 to RCA would make a good signal.

As for the WXC-50 i was told that the sound is better than the Node 2. Is it true ? but it doesn't support MQA.... true ?

I've got mixed opinions.. some said Node2 has a better DAC while the rest said that WXC-50 is better.. since i can not A/B the two.. it is difficult to really compare.
The one place that i can demo the WXC-50 don't sell the node 2.. and the only place i can demo the node 2 don't sell the yamaha.

Is the WXC-50 a audiophile streamer ? I know for sure that the Node 2 works well with mcintosh.. but the node2i is slightly over my budget. my budget is $400 max max.
And preferably $200.. but i don't want to waste $200 either...
I haven't heard the Node 2. I like the "I" version because it works with Airplay 2, but that might not be an issue for you. I think the Yamaha qualifies as audiophile and it can hand DSD and hi resolutions, but it is not MQA enabled. It is very versatile with Airplay and Bluetooth built in. It also has an optical and analog inputs if you ever want to use it that way.
 
I own WXC-50 for almost a year and it's a great device for the price. Never used it with Bluetooth as it's a compressed format.
Configuration and usage is really easy and the yamaha app works fine, any app compatible with DLNA/UPnP should work with it. No need for pairing if it's used on wired network or wifi.

I use mine as an UPnP (with BubbleUpnp on Android phone) renderer and preamplifier plugged into a NAD power amp, love how it sound, very well balanced and detailed but never sounded harsh or clinical.
Sounds felt warmer in preamp mode to me, but that may also be shortcoming in the integrated amp I used as a pre when I tried the line level output.
I compared it's internal DAC with the Cambridge DACMagic 100 I had at the time, and the Yamaha sounded better to my ears, more open sounding and lively.

The Node 2i also had excellent review from a recent What Hifi article, they say it's much better sounding than the Node 2. They're a little more expensive than the Yamaha
 
yea, i've decided to go with wxc-50... since i paid cash i was able to get 50 bux off..

i spent nearly a day listening to a bluesound node 2 and i did not like the bluesound node 2 dac. I can’t explain it.. all i know is that the sound coming from the bluesound node 2 was not right to my ears... i think bluesound tried to make the sound clean but the algorithm is probably eliminating a bit too much.

the wxc-50 sounded better, more real...but not spectacular either.. but it was the sound i needed for my budget..

i have tested more expensive dac like 6 times the price of both and i know the differencd between a very expensive 5k+ dac and these $400ish streamer.. there is just no compairason...

out of the box wxc-50 had no music software acces, except for net radio.. you need to register manually, creating user name for each service that you want to try.. some of them don’t even work with wxc50 unlessyou have a premium membership.. deezer was the only one with some minimum access..

bluesound node 2 had more feature out of the box.. i was able to browse some tidal content without any registration.

but because i didn’t like the built-in dac of the node 2, i choose the wxc50.

there are few things i worry about my purchase though... wxc-50 doesn’t seem to support mqa. will they release a firmware update for mqa?

there are two rca output set.. i beleive one work with the front volume... i find the one that doesn’t work with the volume better..louder, maybe slightly cleaner... i presume both output use the same buil-in dac?
 
yea, i've decided to go with wxc-50... since i paid cash i was able to get 50 bux off..

i spent nearly a day listening to a bluesound node 2 and i did not like the bluesound node 2 dac. I can’t explain it.. all i know is that the sound coming from the bluesound node 2 was not right to my ears... i think bluesound tried to make the sound clean but the algorithm is probably eliminating a bit too much.

the wxc-50 sounded better, more real...but not spectacular either.. but it was the sound i needed for my budget..

i have tested more expensive dac like 6 times the price of both and i know the differencd between a very expensive 5k+ dac and these $400ish streamer.. there is just no compairason...

out of the box wxc-50 had no music software acces, except for net radio.. you need to register manually, creating user name for each service that you want to try.. some of them don’t even work with wxc50 unlessyou have a premium membership.. deezer was the only one with some minimum access..

bluesound node 2 had more feature out of the box.. i was able to browse some tidal content without any registration.

but because i didn’t like the built-in dac of the node 2, i choose the wxc50.

there are few things i worry about my purchase though... wxc-50 doesn’t seem to support mqa. will they release a firmware update for mqa?

there are two rca output set.. i beleive one work with the front volume... i find the one that doesn’t work with the volume better..louder, maybe slightly cleaner... i presume both output use the same buil-in dac?
I am surprised there is anything free on any of them..other than internet radio. I wasn't aware that Tidal had a free service, but typically Spotify only allows their premium service on these type of devices.

With Airplay, you can get any of the audio sources you want from the iPhone. It does require a decent wifi system, though.

I have tried Bluetooth, and if I remember correctly, it had some setting to help with the sound quality. I am not saying it sounds as good as lossless, but the convenience is there, especially if you have an Amazon Dot.

I do remember nothing that one of the outputs had more features than the other. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I think only one of them would work with DSD.
 
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