gimmeheadroom
Headphoneus Supremus
No, the mini out for headphone use is probably next to worthless.
Bluesound Node 2i
- Thread starter SptsNaz
- Start date
No, the mini out for headphone use is probably next to worthless.
So you’ve listened to it or you are speculating?
gimmeheadroom
Headphoneus Supremus
Speculating. I have headphones that even low end headamps don't drive well. I can't imagine it would be ok on the node 2i and I don't know why they would offer 3.5mm out.
If somebody has some compelling specs I'll reconsider.
I wouldn't say it's total cr@p, but that's only because I haven't heard total cr@p in a long time so I have nothing to compare it to.
I have done an A-B comparison though. Using AKG K701s, I compared the 3.5mm on the Node to the Node piped in to a Burson HA-160D. The Node 3.5mm was MEH. The Node into the Burson using RCA (so Node's DAC) was better. The Node into the Burson using coax (Burson DAC) was really nice.
I spent some time looking for specs and any impressions on the 3.5mm out and, based on the lack of discussion, figured it was literally nothing to write home about and most people who care about SQ for high end headphones probably have a dedicated headphone amp. I went ahead and bought it since I wasn't looking for a headphone amp. For me, a headphone jack is more of a nice to have and a bonus if it is better than the one on my NAD D3045 that it will be feeding on my desktop setup (but I don't really expect to use it). If you care about SQ and are trying to compare it to a good headphone amp, you will probably be disappointed. For me, the lack of space on my desk has forced me to keep my setup as simple as possible.
I mostly use IEMs these days so I was curious about output impedance. I expect that I will still need to use the IEMatch if I want to use my IEMs with the Node 2i.
Taken right from the in depth 4-page owners manual: FRONT PANEL HEADPHONE JACK:A 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the front of the NODE 2i
Taken right from the in depth 4-page owners manual: FRONT PANEL HEADPHONE JACK:A 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the front of the NODE 2i
Not really sure what your point is. I know there is a headphone jack...
Sorry, it was tongue in cheek sarcasm. The 3.5 was a total afterthought.
Figured as much. The manual and documentation seemed to be an afterthought (as well. Thanks. I pretty much expect that I will never use the 3.5mm jack.
Can anyone recommend a decent power cord for the Node 2i? Bought one used and it came with everything except the power cable...looks like it may be the same plug type as my TV but I don't have any extra lying around. Should have kept them from old TVs. I contacted the seller but if I end up having to buy one, might as well get something a little better than the stock power cord so thinking USD $50-60ish. I was looking at the C-7 cords from Wireworld but there are some reviews on Amazon that indicate they fall out easily. Any other similar power cords out there that might fall into the sub $100 category?
gimmeheadroom
Headphoneus Supremus
Sure, I mean the RCA output is a line out at 2V. Shirley, the node 2i 3.5mm is a tap off the RCA jacks meant to be used as an alternative to the RCA jacks. It is not a headamp.. Sennheisers need around 15V of swing to sing, there is no way the 3.5mm is going to supply that kind of voltage. I'm not surprised at your impressions, thanks for posting them.
gimmeheadroom
Headphoneus Supremus
It's not meant for IEMs. It's a streamer. It is designed to be used as a source into an integrated amp.
I am pretty sure I said expect to be disappointed by the 3.5mm jack. I was not trying to say I plan on using this for IEMs. Sorry if that was not clear. I bought it to use as a streamer but my comment was meant to convey that I was interested in the capabilities of the 3.5mm headphone jack and that it would be nice to have a good all in one device, even if this is not it. Sometimes, I am lazy or in a rush and just need to plug IEMs into my amp (mostly to listen to a webcasts since, for music, I usually use my Dragonfly Cobalt when I use IEMs). That being said; some specs and actual documentation would still have been nice (for example it, it probably took me 30 tries and a lot of searching online to figure out how to factory reset the Node 2i last night).
I realized the power cable is the same as my PS4 so I tried that as a temporary fix until I can get a power cord for this thing. I tried plugging In some IEMs and, as others have said, I can confirm the 3.5mm really is an afterthought. It is very noisy and I can't see myself ever using it. Bluetooth did work well though and I can see myself uaing that once in a while (sounded better using aptX HD than out of the 3.5mm jack and doesn't require me to adjust the volume on my amp and risk waking up the neighborhood my accidentally turning off my Bluetooth headphonea).
As for the Node 2i, it really is an excellent streamer (I bought it to stream Qobuz to my Nad D3045 on my 2.1 desktop setup) and I am very happy with it. Definitely worth the money. I like BlueOS and actually just canceled Roon, which has been acting up on me recently and I don''t really need now that I have BluOS. I am using the internal DAC even though I don't need MQA to give it a shot and am pretty happy so far with what I hear.
gimmeheadroom
Headphoneus Supremus
Yeah it's a great device for what it is. I haven't read about anything that will stream MQA without dropouts at the price point.
You're lucky you didn't blow your brains out with the IEMs. I would not have tried it.
The cheap power cable should be fine. Without a three wire power supply there is not much point. Wire is wire...
You're lucky you didn't blow your brains out with the IEMs. I would not have tried it.
The cheap power cable should be fine. Without a three wire power supply there is not much point. Wire is wire...
I just had to try out of cusiosity...used an IEMatch to make sure I didnt blow out my brains.
Regarding power cable, you confirmed my suspicions that I cant get a grounded cable so no real point. I am clearly not even close to being an electrical engineer but my HVAC guy did tell me I have some "crazy electricity" here after my PTAC blew out 3 times in a month. I made some room on my UPS for the Node 2i so not too worried now. Thanks for the feedback.
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