Bluesound streamer
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freeman5
Member
I am curious about this myself. How does it compare to the Sonos connect. Is it compatible with MOG? How is the interface? I notice they are priced higher than the respective Sonos units as well. As well I see that Bose is now getting their foot in the "wireless mulitroom music" door with the SoundTouch. I guess it stands to reason that most hifi mfg will debut some offering into this new market...so here I am again. Do I plunge in now, or wait for this newish tech to advance and evolve like so many others have before????
BayouTiger
Super Member
My local dealer has a big BlueSound display. They tell me that MOG is now available. I listened to the Pulse and it sounds really good, much better than my Play5 (at twice the cost though). as far as I can see, it is a nice counter to Sonos, but the Sonos system is miles ahead in online services. It will be good to see how Sonos reacts to some real competition as this solution from NAD has jumped way past them with respect to sound quality.
ThaddeusSmit
Active Member
Thanks for sharing this! I currently use my MacBook Pro with jriver MC and my iPad as control. Been looking at sub-$500 dacs and I may just go with the Node instead. Plays all of the hi-res files via smb shares (aka my unraid nas) and removes the footprint of my laptop, unnecessary screen, etc. the iPad app looks slick and straightforward.
I recently purchased the Bluesound Node.
I was in a similar situation as you and decided to go ahead and take the plunge. While i don't think anyone has yet to produce a "perfect" product at this price range the node hit on enough of what i was looking for to give it a try. Overall i think the Node does a pretty good job towards it purpose.
The connect was obviously the other product i looked at before buying. Between the two they are very similar but do have a few significant differences. First being supported resolutions. The connect is limited to 16/44.1, while the node will play 24/192, essentially the node hits on all of the key specs. While i don't have a large collection of 24bit audio i have enough key albums in that resolution. That was the primary reason for my choosing the node. Second i do not think you can connect to the Sonos via Bluetooth. The node will allow you to connect with the addition of a USB adapter (USB port can also be used for a flash drive or USB powered HD). BTW the recommended adapter is 12 bucks on amazon, which to me is nice to see a company add functionality and not rip customers off in the process. The pluses for the sonos are the greater portfolio of products and the number of services supported.
I don't see Mog listed in the Music services section of the app. Those listed are Qobuz, Rdio, Slacker, Tunein, WiMP. That being said they do seem to be adding services as Slacker was just added.
The biggest thing to be about the bluetooth ability and the reason why the lack of streaming options wasn't a dealbreaker is that i can just connect to the Node and stream directly from spotify via the Spotify app from my phone. Essentially whatever you can stream via bluetooth on your phone/tablet you can stream on the node. For those services that Bluesound does support it seems like you can use them from inside the bluesound app.
If there is one place the node is lacking it is the interface. While it isn't terrible it does miss some things i would consider key features. First when the node scans your libraries it doesn't add m3u playlists thus if you want to replicate any playlists you may have you'll have to do it on the Node then save them there. This almost caused me to return it for that reason alone but after spending the time to replicate my media monkey playlists on the app i changed my mind. Still it is something they need to add, and something that seems to be on their to-do list. There are some other clunky things with the interface, specifically the Play last,next,now system that i have encountered but all things that i have faith will be improved on. A desktop app would also be nice but using bluestacks has given me another option around that. One of the things i discussed with the salesman (who actually owned the Bluesound Vault) was how good of a job they were doing with improving the software side. His comments were that they have come along way over the past few months and that they were pretty receptive with user feedback. In fact he asked me to email him any thoughts i had after playing with it for a bit and he would pass it along to them. I have no clue if he will or not, he did seem very genuine, but it was a nice sales touch at the least. I have an Android phone and it does seem that the iOS app is slightly ahead at this point.
As far as Sound Quality goes unfortunately i don't really have a decent system to really test it on at the moment. Between selling most of my gear, my backup integrated amp deciding its time for some repairs, and being unable to find the gear i am looking to buy im stuck with it being hooked up to an old sony receiver at the moment. All i can really say is i am happy with the sound given what i am working with and comparing it with different sources on that receiver.
Regarding performance of the unit itself i have it hardwired and am not using the wireless. I have absolutely zero complaints in this regard. Songs play as soon as i ask them to and i have been able to play any file i have sent to it with no issues whatsoever.
Overall im happy enough with he device to keep it. I have enough faith that a company that is part of NAD and PSB will be around long enough to become a player in this area and continue to improve and support the product. For my use situation it meets my needs with some software (not hardware) improvements it could easily be a great product. I think if you are in the market for such a device it is certainly one to look at.
I was in a similar situation as you and decided to go ahead and take the plunge. While i don't think anyone has yet to produce a "perfect" product at this price range the node hit on enough of what i was looking for to give it a try. Overall i think the Node does a pretty good job towards it purpose.
The connect was obviously the other product i looked at before buying. Between the two they are very similar but do have a few significant differences. First being supported resolutions. The connect is limited to 16/44.1, while the node will play 24/192, essentially the node hits on all of the key specs. While i don't have a large collection of 24bit audio i have enough key albums in that resolution. That was the primary reason for my choosing the node. Second i do not think you can connect to the Sonos via Bluetooth. The node will allow you to connect with the addition of a USB adapter (USB port can also be used for a flash drive or USB powered HD). BTW the recommended adapter is 12 bucks on amazon, which to me is nice to see a company add functionality and not rip customers off in the process. The pluses for the sonos are the greater portfolio of products and the number of services supported.
I don't see Mog listed in the Music services section of the app. Those listed are Qobuz, Rdio, Slacker, Tunein, WiMP. That being said they do seem to be adding services as Slacker was just added.
The biggest thing to be about the bluetooth ability and the reason why the lack of streaming options wasn't a dealbreaker is that i can just connect to the Node and stream directly from spotify via the Spotify app from my phone. Essentially whatever you can stream via bluetooth on your phone/tablet you can stream on the node. For those services that Bluesound does support it seems like you can use them from inside the bluesound app.
If there is one place the node is lacking it is the interface. While it isn't terrible it does miss some things i would consider key features. First when the node scans your libraries it doesn't add m3u playlists thus if you want to replicate any playlists you may have you'll have to do it on the Node then save them there. This almost caused me to return it for that reason alone but after spending the time to replicate my media monkey playlists on the app i changed my mind. Still it is something they need to add, and something that seems to be on their to-do list. There are some other clunky things with the interface, specifically the Play last,next,now system that i have encountered but all things that i have faith will be improved on. A desktop app would also be nice but using bluestacks has given me another option around that. One of the things i discussed with the salesman (who actually owned the Bluesound Vault) was how good of a job they were doing with improving the software side. His comments were that they have come along way over the past few months and that they were pretty receptive with user feedback. In fact he asked me to email him any thoughts i had after playing with it for a bit and he would pass it along to them. I have no clue if he will or not, he did seem very genuine, but it was a nice sales touch at the least. I have an Android phone and it does seem that the iOS app is slightly ahead at this point.
As far as Sound Quality goes unfortunately i don't really have a decent system to really test it on at the moment. Between selling most of my gear, my backup integrated amp deciding its time for some repairs, and being unable to find the gear i am looking to buy im stuck with it being hooked up to an old sony receiver at the moment. All i can really say is i am happy with the sound given what i am working with and comparing it with different sources on that receiver.
Regarding performance of the unit itself i have it hardwired and am not using the wireless. I have absolutely zero complaints in this regard. Songs play as soon as i ask them to and i have been able to play any file i have sent to it with no issues whatsoever.
Overall im happy enough with he device to keep it. I have enough faith that a company that is part of NAD and PSB will be around long enough to become a player in this area and continue to improve and support the product. For my use situation it meets my needs with some software (not hardware) improvements it could easily be a great product. I think if you are in the market for such a device it is certainly one to look at.
chicks
Lunatic Member
Thanks for the review. Nicely done!
It's possible to Bluetooth from a phone/tablet to the Sonos, using a BT receiver into the aux input. Haven't tried it, but used to BT from the tablet, and it's far from optimal.
Does Bluesound set up its own mesh wi-fi network, or does it share your existing network? That's a major feature of the Sonos, allowing it to have up to 32 nodes, and nearly zero dropouts.
It's possible to Bluetooth from a phone/tablet to the Sonos, using a BT receiver into the aux input. Haven't tried it, but used to BT from the tablet, and it's far from optimal.
Does Bluesound set up its own mesh wi-fi network, or does it share your existing network? That's a major feature of the Sonos, allowing it to have up to 32 nodes, and nearly zero dropouts.
It does share the existing network, which may be dealbreaker for those who are relying on a wireless connection or my plan to use a ton of the products. I honestly haven't even tried the wireless on the node.
Thanks for letting me know about the sonos. After reading your post i looked at a picture of the back and realized how it would be hooked up via an adapter with RCA outputs. Instead of using the aux input, there is a usb port on the node where you can just add the usb bluetooth adapter. To me that seems like the better solution but without trying each i can't comment. While i agree it isn't optimal, like i stated earlier it does help overcome any deficiencies in streaming services compared to Sonos and allows me to easily play a podcast i may have on the phone. Im not sure how the sonos recognizes the connection but on the node i just have to click bluetooth under the local sources and it immediately switches to that.
I will add that Bluesound is certainly trying to play up their audiophile credentials in their marketing. In listening to the two on the same system and same library in the store the Node was the winner, to the extent it was worth the 100 dollar premium. I can't wait till i get my new system to really put it through its paces. That being said Sonos certainly makes a quality product. I purchased the node for myself but at the same time bought my dad a play 3 for Christmas. After thinking about it a bit more i would say that if you can put up with a few annoyances (that will grow less over time) for better sound quality the node might be the best choice. If you prefer ease of use, a larger pool of options, and the bigger ecosystem then sonos would be the winner.
Thanks for letting me know about the sonos. After reading your post i looked at a picture of the back and realized how it would be hooked up via an adapter with RCA outputs. Instead of using the aux input, there is a usb port on the node where you can just add the usb bluetooth adapter. To me that seems like the better solution but without trying each i can't comment. While i agree it isn't optimal, like i stated earlier it does help overcome any deficiencies in streaming services compared to Sonos and allows me to easily play a podcast i may have on the phone. Im not sure how the sonos recognizes the connection but on the node i just have to click bluetooth under the local sources and it immediately switches to that.
I will add that Bluesound is certainly trying to play up their audiophile credentials in their marketing. In listening to the two on the same system and same library in the store the Node was the winner, to the extent it was worth the 100 dollar premium. I can't wait till i get my new system to really put it through its paces. That being said Sonos certainly makes a quality product. I purchased the node for myself but at the same time bought my dad a play 3 for Christmas. After thinking about it a bit more i would say that if you can put up with a few annoyances (that will grow less over time) for better sound quality the node might be the best choice. If you prefer ease of use, a larger pool of options, and the bigger ecosystem then sonos would be the winner.
chicks
Lunatic Member
Good to see Sonos may finally have a viable competitor. Many others have tried and failed. Looks like Bose is getting into the act, as well, in their usual simplified fashion.
I hope Bluesound steps up to Sonos' superb level of support, and can entice as many content providers to play.
I hope Bluesound steps up to Sonos' superb level of support, and can entice as many content providers to play.
BayouTiger
Super Member
One thing I don't understand though is that the new system uses a really silly form factor (as does Sonos). Why the goofy variety of sizes and shapes. It would have been nice to see something that didn't look goofy in your rack.
I think I will be getting a Node to try out as well. I was really taken with how great the system sounds.
I think I will be getting a Node to try out as well. I was really taken with how great the system sounds.
