Problem with connecting Bluesound Node 2 i with external DAC by Coax Out
Answered
Hi,
My Node 2i does not seem to be working when I try and bypass the internal DAC and use an external one such as the Exogal Comet DAC via a Coaxial Cable.
I tried two new coaxial cables: first RCA - BNC and second RCA - RCA plus BNC adapter.
I succeed with Node 2 to Exogal Comet connection via a Toslink cable (optical). That works fine.
The Exogal Comet is also checked and connection via BNC with the other streamer works nice (coaxial RCA-BNC). Ichecked all INs in DAC.
I did the reboot of Node 2 i several times with no effect.
I looked at some of the responses on the Forum and note that other people seem to be having the same problem.
Could You help me somehow or should I send him to the service center?
The Node is 3 weeks old and have the latest soft version.
Regards
Alek
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Official comment
Hello Aleksy,
Sounds more to me like the issue lies in the BNC adapter -- in that the BNC adapter is likely unable to handle the NODE's output (potentially a voltage/impedance compatibility).
Adapters are a tricky thing; I would want to narrow this down by testing the coax out on the NODE to an RCA coax external DAC.
Regards,
Sam R. -
Hello,
OK, thats why I first tested Coaxial cable RCA-RCA plus adapter.
Then I bought a new cable coaxial with pins: RCA-BNC (Melodika MDBNR10), just to be sure, that it isnt a adapter's fault.
Regards
Alek
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What happens if you don't use a BNC connector at all? That is, if you connect the NODE to a DAC with a coax input that is RCA.
(The architecture of RCA/BNC itself may be incompatible)
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Exogal doesnt have RCA, it has SPDIF (BNC), Toslink, XLR...
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Just for info I have my Node 2 connected to a Chord 2Qute DAC with an RCA to BNC 75ohm coax cable and this works without problem.
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Both cables I tried are 75 ohm coax cables.
Exogal connected by BNC with Moon 180 streamer works fine.
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Dear Sam,
Do You have any more ideas, before I send the Node to the service?
The more time I spend here the more I feel You want to put me off.
Regards
Alek
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Hello Alesky,
I don't mean to put you off; I just always like to make sure all possible testing is done before sending a player to service. Due diligence and such. :)
While I still would want to test the NODE coax straight to RCA coax, you and Mark have otherwise covered the other grounds. It may be best to reach out to your dealer/distributor for service.
Regards,
Sam R.0 -
Mark Everett Just for info I have my Node 2 connected to a Chord 2Qute DAC with an RCA to BNC 75ohm coax cable and this works without problem.HI Mark,Enjoy:-)But, there are many cases on the Forum with other people seem to be having the same problem (Blusound Node 2 i problem with connecting external DAC by coax out).0
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It's always a case-by-case basis. Some DACs can't handle certain sample rates over digital/coax; sometimes the cable is damaged; sometimes MQA External DAC was accidentally turned on when connected to a non-MQA DAC; and sometimes its the coax out on the NODE itself. It can be so many different things and it surfaces in different ways. And figuring out what it is in each case is what I'm here to help with!
Cheers,
Sam R.0 -
Sam, just curious, could You give me rationale for Your statement:
(The architecture of RCA/BNC itself may be incompatible)
PS: Still not working
Regards
Alek
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Hi Alexsy
Simply put - hardly anyone in the industry uses barrel connectors anymore... this is an odd cable and odd choice for your DAC manufacturer to use and be cross-compatible with the industry.
There fore there is likely something in the cable.
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Actually, what is odd is that BNC isn't used a lot more as it is superior to RCA.
What happened with your Node 2, Aleksy?
Eirik
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Hi Alek, I ran into the exact same issue with my external Burson DAC. The Bluesound support blamed the DAC being too picky to lock signal and the DAC blamed the Bluesound coax signal not being clean enough to get a lock. Well, after spending a fortune on cables that cost more than the Node 2i (from BJC to Audioquest to RCA termination to BNC (50&75 ohm)) none work. It’s not the cables. i’m trying all the tricks in the book from their technical support , The only solution was to insert a iFi SPDIF purifier right at the DAC and problem has been gone for six months now without a fail. So I guess cleaning the Bluesound coax signal was the fix!
Forward six months and I decide to give blue sound another chance with my other Node 2i (I have 3) so I decide to upgrade the DAC to a musical paradise external tube DAC. Guess what, same darn thing! plays for a bit than cuts out. I tried cables again no luck. I plug-in my schiit Modi DAC and it works. So I just bought ANOTHER DAC brand that can’t sort the coax signal of the Node 2i!!!
I go downstairs and get my ifi SPDIF purifier and all of a sudden no more problem, again! I am not buying a $300 purifier for each Node 2i to make sure that it works with the majority of the DAC out there. It should not be that complicated to pick a DAC that will work with the Node 2i’s coax output without cleaning its signal. Bluesound, please clean your coax spdif output!I have 5 Blue sound devices as multi room set ups and I now regret being stuck in this ecosystem since my best listening rig DAC’s have a hard time working with the Node 2i
Interesting fact, I also Run 3 Raspberry Pi’s as a streamers via Coax in the same DAC’s and NO problem at all. I think it’s pretty obvious where the problem lies.
I was going to pull the trigger on buying the new Node but I’m certainly going to that on hold after my experience today with my brand new musical paradise DAC and can’t use it. I have been fooled twice now. And now if I want it to work I have to spend an extra $300 on a signal purifier. I am fuming.
Maybe if all the Node users that have this problem get together and buy Ifi SPDIF purifiers in bulk, we can get a good price ;)
seriously though, my next streamer will be a ifi Zen stream and will slowly walk away from the whole Bluesound Eco system if you don’t do anything.
Good luck Alek
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Hi Eric,
I had the same exact issue! The ifi purifier fixed the issue that I spent months trying to figure out. I thought I was crazy. Thank you for your post.
Chuck
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Glad to hear your issue is fixed.
In the meantime, I since also bought the new Node 2021 and same thing. Still need an iPurifier.1 -
It's just sad to see Bluesound hasn't come forward with something more substantial than "it's the cable/something/something/just not the Node". Not many people are going to run into this problem as BNC's are rare, but it seems like enough BNC users has this issue for it not to be a coincidence. Which kind of suggests (at least in my mind) that the SPDIF signal coming out of the Node(s) is not optimal/is weak/is misconfigured in some way (and RCA is forgiving enough for it to pass). Not a great thought to be having to be honest. Perhaps I'm making huge jumps here, and one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. But it seems somewhat logical.
Please don't just ignore this issue, Bluesound, just because "BNC isn't industry standard". What if it is a poor SPDIF signal, and RCA is just forgiving enough for it not to be noticed? What if the issue was fixed, and then the RCA SPDIF sound quality increased 10%? I'm no audio expert, far from it. Just throwing some thoughts out there.1 -
I am having exactly this same problem with a Chord QuteHD and my 2021 Node. I plugged the QuteHD in and it worked fine for a little while with BNC adapter and a quality 75ohm RCA cable, and then crickets. I switched to quality toslink optical to see if that works, and no luck. My Node works fine with both optical and coax cables connected to my Arcam irDAC, and sounds better than the Node’s internal dac with both formats, although coax clearly sounds better. The Chord QuteHD works like a champ and sounds great when connected to my disc player with toslink and my computer via USB, so I am pretty sure it is working up to spec.
This is disappointing because I have really enjoyed the sound and functionality of the Node, and wanted to upgrade the external dac. Sounds like I am not alone here.
Question for others, does the ifi SPDIF purifier affect the sound quality in any way? Have you tested it with other systems to see if it is neutral or better when in line?
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Hi, I just bought Node 3 to use with my Bel Canto DAC. I faced with similar issues with 24/192 files from NAS on both spdif and optical outputs from Node 3. I didn’t get any sound with SPDIF and sound with transmission problems with Optical. Both worked up to 24/96. My cables are DH Labs and work fine with my other streamer.
I noticed that there is an option called “ Audio clock trim” in audio settings which was on. It says “BluOS uses small adjustments to the audio clock to maintain glitch-free audio synchronization. Disable this when using an external DAC that cannot cope with these adjustments.” I turned it off and the problem is solved for me. Now it works fine with 24/192 files.0
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