Bluesound vault 2i V Novafidelity x45

leroyd

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Not the best with tech talk, but am looking at dispensing with my CD player, as I just love the streaming experience. Currently streaming Tidal with Chromecast audio and am very pleased, but want to take it to the next level with either of the units mentioned in the title. Both units have a hard drive so no more need for CD player

The thing is the Vault is half the price of the Novafidelity x45. It maybe the case that the DAC on the x45 is superior, but judging from the comments of members on here, it seems that you need to go a few steps up the foood chain and at considerable expense, to better whats on offer from Bluesound 2i which essentially is a a,Vault without a hard drive.

The significant advantage of the x45 over the Vault, is a phono input allowing vinyl to be stored digitally, together with the option of operating wirelessly. Nice to have but at twice the price of the Vault, hardly a game changer. Try before you by, is not an option unfortunately.

I would be gratefull for any guidance with the above. Many thanks in advance.

 

greybeard

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The significant advantage of the x45 over the Vault, is a phono input allowing vinyl to be stored digitally, together with the option of operating wirelessly
Why would you want to store your albums digitally, just stream the albums you own.  Vinyl has to be  stored in real time so becomes time intensive, and most people prefer there analogue to stay analogue.

 

leroyd

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Why would you want to store your albums digitally, just stream the albums you own.  Vinyl has to be  stored in real time so becomes time intensive, and most people prefer there analogue to stay 
As I say the vinyl transfer to hard disc is not a game changer, given the price difference. I will be keeping my vinyl front end regardless. The reason being is that the majority of my vinyl is classic and prog rock from the 70's. To my ears, many of these recordings have not transferred all that well onto the digital domain, even when remastered.

Vinyl V digital?. In my world there is place for both.

 

greybeard

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Vinyl V digital?. In my world there is place for both
Totally agree, I have an analogue, and a digital active system. I must admit that the convenience of streaming, and the hi resolution streams available today, win the day most of the time.

As for the 2 streaming options you have mentioned, I would go for the node 2i if storage is not a must, mainly as the OS seems to be highly thought of. 

 
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leroyd

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Totally agree, I have an analogue, and a digital active system. I must admit that the convenience of streaming, and the hi resolution streams available today, win the day most of the time.

As for the 2 streaming options you have mentioned, I would go for the node 2i if storage is not a must, mainly as the OS seems to be highly thought of. 
Storage is a must for my CD's, but not necessary for my vinyl. Price wise the vault looks the better option, though there are some comments of the hard drive being noisy and the x45 has the option of using a solid state drive.

Another advantage of rhe x45 is that it would theoretically replace my preamp. The phono is probably just ok, but it can work as an analogue line in, which will facilitate my DV P75 phono stage. Decisions, decisions

 
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Gray

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I was very interested in all the facilities available, so had one of those Cocktail Audio (Nova Fidelity) full-width models for a home loan.

Can't remember the X number. To be honest the general feel of the unit didn't inspire much confidence.

But that was one of their earliest models and, like you probably, I've seen favourable reviews of their current products - point being, the build quality must be better now.

I currently use the poor man's streamer - a Raspberry Pi USB to an Epiphany acoustics E-DAC, with Volumio as the operating system.....sounds good.

As for ripping vinyl.....don't knock it till you've tried it.....then you'll knock it. (I'd never used the phrase, "life's too short" before I did).

 

Lurch

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Storage is a must for my CD's, but not necessary for my vinyl. Price wise the vault looks the better option, though there are some comments of the hard drive being noisy and the x45 has the option of using a solid state drive.

Another advantage of rhe x45 is that it would theoretically replace my preamp. The phono is probably just ok, but it can work as an analogue line in, which will facilitate my DV P75 phono stage. Decisions, decisions
 The Vault could also be used as a pre (volume, source etc selection being don by your phone/tablet/pc via the app) as it has a line in though in 3.5mm format so you'd need an rcs to 3.5mm Y lead from your phono. 

The other option is to burn you CDs via your pc using dB power base then dumping the results on a memory stick or external ssd/NAS. This would then allow you to opt for the cheaper Node2i as opposed to the vault. 

 

leroyd

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 The Vault could also be used as a pre (volume, source etc selection being don by your phone/tablet/pc via the app) as it has a line in though in 3.5mm format so you'd need an rcs to 3.5mm Y lead from your phono. 

The other option is to burn you CDs via your pc using dB power base then dumping the results on a memory stick or external ssd/NAS. This would then allow you to opt for the cheaper Node2i as opposed to the vault. 
All good information and food for thought.

A detailed review of the x45 here

 

Sotosound

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I have a Vault 2 and I wouldn’t swap it for a Node 2i plus memory sticks. Too much faff. Plus it would take numerous memory sticks to store my 2,000 CDs. (Probably 20+.) Plus even more, it would be a faff having to switch memory sticks all of the time and then wait while the Node indexes them.

I opted for a Vault 2 and then bought an excellent DAC to complement it. This gave me all of the flexibility and versatility that I needed and then topped it off with excellent sound quality.

In general, the BluOS operating system is also good. It isn’t perfect and it has a few foibles when installed on an iPad but, in general, I strongly recommend it.

 
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technarchy

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I have a vault 2i and I can’t fault it! App is great & easy to use, ripping takes minutes & it finds most of your artwork & it sound great for the money! I’ve got mine through a naim/proac/lp12 system & definitely will not be changing it anytime soon. Even the mrs can use it & we have added 2 Pulse flex speakers in the house which are great imo!

 
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leroyd

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I have a Vault 2 and I wouldn’t swap it for a Node 2i plus memory sticks. Too much faff. Plus it would take numerous memory sticks to store my 2,000 CDs. (Probably 20+.) Plus even more, it would be a faff having to switch memory sticks all of the time and then wait while the Node indexes them.

I opted for a Vault 2 and then bought an excellent DAC to complement it. This gave me all of the flexibility and versatility that I needed and then topped it off with excellent sound quality.

In general, the BluOS operating system is also good. It isn’t perfect and it has a few foibles when installed on an iPad but, in general, I strongly recommend it.
Thanks for the info. What DAC did you go for?

 

leroyd

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I have a vault 2i and I can’t fault it! App is great & easy to use, ripping takes minutes & it finds most of your artwork & it sound great for the money! I’ve got mine through a naim/proac/lp12 system & definitely will not be changing it anytime soon. Even the mrs can use it & we have added 2 Pulse flex speakers in the house which are great imo!
Thanks for rhe info, though I don't want the mrs to have any understanding of how my system works, for fear she will get out her Garth Brooks CD's :)

 
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technarchy

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Thanks for rhe info, though I don't want the mrs to have any understanding of how my system works, for fear she will get out her Garth Brooks CD's :)
I’ve had Aerosmith & the best of dubstep2! If you get the speaker add on its different music in different rooms! Her in the makeshift home office & me with the 5 year old in the lounge until my shielding letter runs out which can’t come soon enough! My wallet is taking a dent with upgrades & records

 

t1no

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As for ripping vinyl.....don't knock it till you've tried it.....then you'll knock it. (I'd never used the phrase, "life's too short" before I did).
It's not the real time recording that's the problem (go mow the lawn whilst it's recording) ... but the post editing. You soon become an expert in Audacity (other software is available) and fine glitch editing.

 
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leroyd

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Just looked at your info. How does the Audio Note DAC compare with that of the Saturn?. Do you run the Saturn into the Audionote DAC?. Thank you.

 
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Sotosound

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Just looked at your info. How does the Audio Note DAC compare with that of the Saturn?. Do you run the Saturn into the Audionote DAC?. Thank you.
The Saturn runs using its own DAC. It's a really good, classy CD player.

Trying to feed both the Saturn and the Vault into the DAC 0.1x seemed like a bit of a faff since the DAC doesn't accept multiple coax inputs.

Also, the Saturn is good enough to not really need the DAC. I'm therefore happy to run the Saturn and the DAC/Vault separately.

If I were to compare the two, the Saturn has a very slight mid-range uplift, which slightly emphasises detail and which might irritate if combined with an amp or speakers with a similar uplift, e.g. when I was using some Monitor Audio GS60 speakers. In my neutral-sounding system, however, it sounds great, and I don't really worry about not running it through the DAC.

(When comparing the Saturn and the Vault/DAC, I can hear the difference, but when simply listening to the Saturn I don't notice it.)

Moreover, with the Vault in place and with all of my CDs ripped to it, the Saturn hardly ever gets used.

 

leroyd

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The Saturn runs using its own DAC. It's a really good, classy CD player.

Trying to feed both the Saturn and the Vault into the DAC 0.1x seemed like a bit of a faff since the DAC doesn't accept multiple coax inputs.

Also, the Saturn is good enough to not really need the DAC. I'm therefore happy to run the Saturn and the DAC/Vault separately.

If I were to compare the two, the Saturn has a very slight mid-range uplift, which slightly emphasises detail and which might irritate if combined with an amp or speakers with a similar uplift, e.g. when I was using some Monitor Audio GS60 speakers. In my neutral-sounding system, however, it sounds great, and I don't really worry about not running it through the DAC.

(When comparing the Saturn and the Vault/DAC, I can hear the difference, but when simply listening to the Saturn I don't notice it.)

Moreover, with the Vault in place and with all of my CDs ripped to it, the Saturn hardly ever gets used.
Many thanks your reply.

 

artless

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I bought a Nova Fidelity X45 with a 2TB SSD last year after a week's home demo. 

I wanted to see how my Audio Synthesis DAX Decade + Sonos streamer (combo used for 10+ years) compared against more modern components. I did try a Devialet 250 for a couple of years, but reverted back to the AS/Sonos combo.

The X45, in my opinion, produced the best sound in my system. The inbuilt streamer is also better than the Sonos. 

My ranking order : X45 > X45 + Sonos > Audio Synthesis + Sonos > Devialet + Sonos.

The additional bonus is the reduction in box count and associated cables. One box replaced a DAC, streamer, NAS and CD player. 

I use Spotify Premium and the X45 is simply seen as another device to stream to. 

I also use the phone app for playing stored digital media and the app is very good. (So much better than Devialet's software). Also, I have connected my turntable to play records (though mostly for nostalgia). Additionally, this box handles pretty much any high res format, and also does CD ripping. 

It was hard to get my head around the fact that the X45 sounded so good, while having so much functionality. I have generally preferred dedicated components - one item does one function and does it well.

I don't use half of the functions, but the overall take is that it delivers on it's prime function - sound quality - and I don't feel any need to upgrade or change.

 

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