Sample Test - Bluesound Node2i Power Supply modification
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- čas přidán 29. 03. 2021
- Ever wondered what a better power supply could do to a Node 2i? Well... we modified a Bluesound Node 2i with the PD Power supply unit and connected a 5 Volt Sbooster to it. The results can be heard in this sample test video.
More information: www.alpha-audio.nl / alpha-audio.net
PD Unit: pd-cf.com/produkt/bluesound-n... - Věda a technologie
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/48PxwspDvrE/mqdefault.jpg)
What an absolutely brilliantly put together a/b comparison video. So well done , lavishly executed and totally conclusive. The differences are quite frankly staggering . Thank you all very much
Great video. I was easily able to tell which player was selected listening through a cheap gaming headset while working. A very discernable upgrade.
Thanks!
I agree and wanted to say I appreciate the display of the music playing.
Ik ben benieuwd naar de setup. Wordt de interne DAC van de Node 2i gebruikt? En XLR naar preamp en eindversterker? Hebben jullie ook ervaren dat de digitale optische uitgang relatief veel afwijking geeft?
Can you try a Lumin D2 against a node 2i
This is 400€ upgrade and difference is so small. Second hand DAC for cca 400€ - 500€ could make much more improvement. Thank you for review.
It’s less than €100 for the PSU board , a linear power supply less than another €100. It’s a significant improvement for that budget I’d say , but as you say, DAC upgrade first but this is a great second option
Have you had a chance to compare the modified Node to a something like a Lumin U1 or Rendu?
Nope
Hello, How do you compare Focal Soprano No1 to KEF Reference 1 speakers for 2.0 or 2.1 stereo? Which in your opinion is the better speaker. Thanks.
The Sopras are more lively sounding in the midrange. I'd say the tweeter is better on the Sopras overall - when I was shopping it was down to the Ref 3's and Sopra 2. I chose the Focals. That said, if I had opted for the KEFs I'd have enjoyed them. Ref 1's are great and probably easier to drive than the Focals (if you want to use tubes).
@@ChrisMag100 Thanks for reaching out. Much appreciated.
thank you for this!
Welcome!
Certainly a difference. Blacker background. Clearer instrument separation. Less muddy sound signature. Can only assume a slightly bigger soundstage too. How does it compare with your reference Abmre?
Getting very close... :-)
So is this only gonna affect the sound when using the inboard dac and not when you are using a digital out and a seperate dac?
Correct.
I use the node in my second system and use the onboard DAC so I am anxious to perform this mod.
also much better in bridge mode with external dac! (Audio clock trim on the node must be disabled)
Just added my PD board with Allo Shanti LSPU. More soundstage in depth and width. Clearer separation between instruments. Bass even more defined. Also have a bit more detail in the treble with a bit more air. I didn't expect the upgrade to make such a difference. What is your summary of the upgrade?
I did the exact same upgrade. PD board, Allo Shanti LPSU. I agree with most of your findings but I am not entirely sure about the Bass. Somehow Bass feels tighter but it doesn't sound "as low" as before. Maybe this is related to the Bass becoming tighter, but for me it feels like the mid/high range is more prominent and I'm not sure yet if I like this.
@@baskapteijn that's interesting. I haven't noticed a bump in upper mid range. What amp and speakers do you have?
@@ryansudding667 I'm using Wharfedale Evo 4.3's and a Marantz 7001KI. Single wired (so not bi-wire).
It might be that the tighter base is fooling my ears, it just sounds less prominent than before. The mids/highs seem to be more prominent, but that could be caused by more defined bass. It's difficult to be objective here :).
What setup are you using?
@@baskapteijn I have a Naim Nait XS2, Scansonic MB5B'S speakers. I am starting to hear the upper mids a bit more. Yes it is slightly more forward, but I am enjoying the airiness and the transparency more. It's definitely a blacker background too. I prefer the tighter bass.
@@ryansudding667 impressive system! I turns out that after fiddling with my interconnect the bass sounds much better. Time to clean it I guess...
Great!!! Actually not being able to be powered by an external power supply, considering The BlueSound Node is such a low (be it multi) voltage(d) piece of equipment, IS the main reason I have not bought one, yet. Only £75 (- minus PSU), great.
Heel interessant! Ook vergeleken bij digitaal uit of er verschillen waren?
Nog niet. Komt in de review.
@@TheAlphaAudio Dank voor de snelle reactie! Ik zal m lezen...
Ook heel benieuwd. Mocht het zo zijn dan koop ik deze upgrade gelijk
macbook pro and beyerdynamics dt 770. I can't hear a difference.
Nice!
I have a Node 2 , so would it be wise to first upgrade to 2i and then add the upgrade ? .. or would you expect the same result on the Node 2
You will gain more with this upgrade.
Only if you use the onboard DAC, otherwise they are identical. I run a digital signal out of my Node 2 and into my amp directly which does the conversion. Better to save your money and buy a separate DAC (there are lots) than rely on a Node 2i
@@alexherceg9496 thanks , I am also only using the digital out and use my Lyngdorf Amp / processor , so far very happy .
@@roelofassies4058 - good idea! I had a Lyngdorf as well, now Hegel. The node 2/2i is the best value streamer you can get. I use mine with coaxial rather than optical and it works very well. This power supply upgrade will still make a difference even if using it as a streamer though.
@@alexherceg9496 same here I am also using Coaxial .. I upgraded the power supply with the SBooster .. Great result
What brand of power supply replacement was used? Thank you.
SBooster.
So how does this compare to the non modified Node 2i in your opinion ? .. on an iPhone difficult to judge ..
Just pick some decent headphones and listen. We hear a larger and more 3d image. And bass is more pleasant.
@@TheAlphaAudio Do you feel as though some PRAT was lost due to the modification? I did here the improvements that you mentioned, though they were subtle through the transfer to and through my A/V amp speaker system. Unfortunately I can't find my better set of headphones.
@@cablebrain9691 No, I didn't have the feeling it got slower / lose PRaT. You do have to get used to it a bit. Staging is bigger and it got more fluid...
@@TheAlphaAudio is this upgrade relevant if not using the node internal DAC?
Sorry. If i understood well, the improvement was only if you use BS Node's analog output. Right?.
(I use the Chord Qutest + Sbooster as Dac via optical cable)
Yes
Then you avoided to use a better quality external dac thanks of this upgrade, don't you?
@@1luiluilui quality does go up. A better external dac can go further... But is more expensive.
@@TheAlphaAudiowill this upgrade still be significantly better if I use external DAC? Or only for analog?
@@njrumenos a little bit
Ik hoor duidelijk verschil bij 5:16... Het tikje op het 'hout' in het nummer is bij de geüpgrade Node 2i veel duidelijker waarneembaar! En bij de standaard Node hoor je het versmeerd.
Grappig, dat verschil hoor ik ook duidelijk. Dat lichte tikje op het houten blokje. Voor de rest hoor ik bar weinig verschil eigenlijk (op een PXC 550). Ik had meer verschillen verwacht.
Is dit dan met interne DAC van de Bluesound?
Jazeker. Allebei analoog uit.
I want to hear a reasonable difference so I could justify spending $700 on an ext power supply but I just can’t. Try as I may with headphones on, the difference sounds like a tiny volume increase and a tiny bit of extra body in the music, but it’s really hard to hear and often I can’t hear it.
It's a small difference... I wouldnt invest.
I agree 100%. No clear difference
Only thing I can tell is the bass is a little thicker
Gelukkig ook wat nieuwe muziek ,jack cliché begint een beetje op mijn zenuwen te werken.😀
Hahahaha... Sja. Er moet altijd 1 referentie blijven... :-(
Jammer dat digitaal uit niet vergeleken wordt.... Was nu juist benieuwd of de power upgrade ook digitaal een uprade zou zijn. Jammer dan :-)
We gaan nog een review schrijven. No worries! :-)
@@TheAlphaAudio when will the full review be available ?
@@roelofassies4058 the review of the mod is already available. Check alpha-audio.net or alpha-audio.nl.
Even with that nice recording, we are still only hearing the CZcams processing and what ever speaker we are listening from. I hear zero difference from my device. Bet it's much better in person though.
The differences between te devices are also recorded and will always be there: compression or not. We tested this method for over 18 months now. We know it works on loads of set-ups (no, not the internal speaker of a latop...but some normal in-ears will work for noticing differences). If you want the lossless files: alpha-audio.net. Just login and you will see the sample-database in the menu.
I prefer unmodified though blind test resulted in equal sound.
Die modificatie is een flinke upgrade .daar heeft de node2i flink profijt van .
Ik vind het wel hoorbaar ja!
@@TheAlphaAudio dat is een voorzichtig antwoord😅
@@dodjo18 wat voor de een groot is, is voor de ander subtiel. Vandaar.
@@TheAlphaAudio precies dat. Lees zo vaak "wereld van verschil!" Leuk en aardig maar vanuit mijn perspectief leef je dan onder een zandkorrel 😂
The mod has some noise on the left channel
Could be traffic
Sounds like noise to me . It’s the only difference I can hear.
Edit: actually the modified one does sound less muddy, more defined. But there’s definitely some noise I can hear
@@Rhcpbedders Airco? It's our listening room. It's not dead silent. We are working on that. Takes some serious money to isolate the room.
@@TheAlphaAudio but it’s clearly different between the two? Why is that?
@@Rhcpbedders normal one is sampled in the morning. Modded one in the afternoon.
I hear no difference
Buy better headphone or system 😂
I could hear a difference just using standard iPhone headphones. Could be what you are using to listen to the differences
I kept my eye closed not to be influenced and I heard no difference. 🙉
Dont get me wrong. I use a SBooster Power Supply too and I know Power Supplies can make a big difference. But in this case I didnt hear it that much. Maybe they should not show us which is playing and just tell us this is A and this is B. And in der description box they can tell us what A and what B is. So that our mind cant play games with us
You are correct, there is no difference !
Sorry but if the power supply makes that much of a difference that you can tell it apart through compressed YT audio, I don’t want to buy any of this stuff. Because it means it’s badly engineered. At least with the stock power supply.
Unless of course the levels are different and that’s all it is.
Whatever floats your boat.
Verschil is vrijwel nihil. Als het überhaupt al via CZcams waarneembaar is.
No measurements here nor in your written review?!?! what a joke
I would not spend the money unless they can prove any measurable difference on the audio outputs. Looking at the performance of the thing in general, I’d say it’s not worth it in any case. For about the same money as the PSU you can buy a separate DAC that is much better. Hook it up to the spdif out and enjoy.
If you donate 20.000 Euro for an AudioPrecision 515 dual domain, I will measure it for you. No problem. Unitl then, you will have to be happy with the 12.000 euro sample set-up we use for audio-demo's; that is excluding the 8.000 euro camera and roughly 5000 euro editing PC by the way.
Maybe YOU'RE the joke.
This Account: Joined Mar 17, 2021
@@TheAlphaAudio what a poor excuse. What's the point on running a very inaccurate audio test and them blaming on lack of resources for this? You should learn from Amir.
Are you trying to show off with these numbers?? 20k euros is only the price of the cartridge on my turntable...
@@cablebrain9691 stupid fake, come get me, set place and time
@@interestingthingsoninternet You're a troll. Nobody likes you, not even on Audio Science Review, I'm sure. Please, go back to watching your "Miss Italia Slow Motion" videos, and keep the rude comments to yourself, Tough-guy. 😂
I won't reply to you further, because I know that you'd likely just enjoy that. So, "bye forever!" Enjoy your miserable and pathetic life!!!
This Account: Joined Mar 17, 2021
I think Bluesound node designers are not stupid.
If you can't easily distining the results of that modification,
there's no need to spend the extra cost of one Bluesound node.