Bluesound Powernode 2i (with HDMI) review: Bodacious sound from a micro-sized box

Don’t let the little dimensions and minimalist contain of the $899 Bluesound Powernode 2i deceive you. This self-amplified, multi-room streaming music participant is packed with audio goodness and will lift happy sonic experiences from as regards to any offer: Local or community storage, a disc participant, your mobile instrument, or your streaming provider of quite quite a lot of—alongside side their excessive-res tiers. It’s most likely you’ll issue a turntable, too, nonetheless you’ll must poke it into a preamp, first. Factual be involving for an particular particular person experience that’s, lets are announcing, a wee bit tough around the perimeters.

In my book, the Powernode 2i’s aspects, capabilities, and efficiency are price going by just a few operational quirks that will indulge in to quiet be mastered, tolerated, or mounted (more on that in a runt bit). Its pluses a long way outweigh its negatives, upright love that abiding admire of your existence whose eccentricities you study to push apart. I point out, what’s now to no longer admire right here? You procure whistle-elegant amplification (60 watts per channel), excessive-choice audio enhance (up to 24-bit choice with sampling charges as excessive as 192kHz), enhance for every considerable file format (alongside side FLAC, Apple Lossless, and MQA), sturdy connectivity choices (USB, gigabit ethernet, twin-band 802.11ac, Airplay 2, two-design Bluetooth 5.0), diverse inputs and outputs (Toslink, combo Toslink/3.5mm in; 3.5mm headphone, subwoofer out), and even HDMI ARC enhance. Factual add your possess loudspeakers.

Queer on this product category, the Powernode 2i might per chance circulation music to your common Bluetooth headphones—with enhance for the aptX HD codec and remote transport alter (pause/play, volume up/down) in case your cans also indulge in these aspects. Clutch extinct-school wired headphones? Factual poke them into the three.5mm jack on the entrance of the unit. I acquired my groove on with Andover Audio’s PM-50 planar magnetics (newly updated with the bigger-cavity ear cups I’d been asking for).

Jonathan Takiff / IDG

It’s hard to imagine the amount of tech packed into this 3.8-pound chunk of a element measuring upright 8.7 x 7.5 x 2.75 inches (WxDxH). It even has contact-serene controls on its high surface (play/pause, volume up/down, previous/next observe), otherwise you would arrange it alongside with your mobile instrument (Android or iOS), issue commands (Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant), or Bluesound’s RC1 Some distance off Controller (a $59 add-on). It doesn’t sip mighty juice, either: 2.3 watts in standby and hovering around 13 watts all by operation, essentially essentially based on my Belkin vitality video show.

Streaming excessive-res audio

The Powernode 2i is the first (and quiet handiest) constructed-in streaming tuner/amp combo I’ve encountered on this designate differ that can lift the excessive-choice tiers of Qobuz, Tidal HiFi (alongside side MQA), and Amazon Track HD. Bluesound helps upright about every assorted provider, too, alongside side Spotify, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Neil Young Archives, Nugs.win, TuneIn, and more. Curiously, nonetheless, Apple Track, Pandora, and Sirius/XM are now no longer at showcase supported (unless you circulation them out of your mobile instrument over Bluetooth). It’s most likely you’ll issue the Powernode 2i with what upright might per chance be the sector’s handiest music-listening instrument: Roon—if you don’t mind paying $120 a yr or $700 for a lifetime license.

Bluesound’s competition doesn’t measure up by enhance for excessive-choice audio. Sonos delivers an unparalleled particular person experience, and it helps almost every streaming provider beneath the solar, nonetheless even its most in fashion-know-how S2 parts are runt to sampling charges up to 48kHz (albeit with 24-bit choice), and that’s handiest with FLAC and Apple Lossless tracks. Older Sonos parts are runt to 16-bit/48kHz.

Jonathan Takiff / IDG

Bose isn’t as regards to as start to streaming providers and products—it doesn’t offer Tidal or Qobuz—and CD choice is as appropriate because it gets from any offer with its two traces of networked audio gear, Swish Audio system and SoundTouch. Russound supplies Hi-Res-certified audio streamers, nonetheless neither the MBX-PRE I reviewed in July nor its amplified sibling, the MBX-AMP, can handle 24-bit FLAC recordsdata. Russound helps Tidal, nonetheless now no longer Tidal HiFi, Qobuz, or Amazon HD.

Powernode 2i listening checks

The Powernode 2i’s detailed, airy, and complete bodied sound will provoke even sonic snobs who limit their paying consideration to pristine 18-gram vinyl pressings, SACDs, Blu-Ray Audio, and DVD-Audio discs. I performed a series of A/B comparisons of excessive-res tracks streamed from Qobuz and Tidal HiFi with the same tracks played from CDs on Oppo and Pioneer universal gamers connected to the Powernode 2i. I selected tracks recorded by effectively-known studio perfectionists: Dire Straits, Jackson Browne, Norah Jones, Donald Fagen, and Stevie Surprise. I ancient a pair of Q Acoustics’ 3020i bookshelf audio system (deliciously cheap at $329) and a classic MB Quart subwoofer to round out the underside.

I had problem discerning which modified into the “hard reproduction” and which the circulation. And typically the latter won the scramble. As a discerning (k, obsessive) listener, I will’t order you how comforting it is miles to in the end hear streaming music that’s uncompromised. Recordings that copy the fashioned masters, rather than seeming one step away from actuality; that sound veiled—now no longer rather as gripping-edged and targeted, with a tad less forcefulness and curve within the bass notes, less chew within the brass.

Jonathan Takiff / IDG

Norah Jones’ classic “Come Away With Me” modified into stout of Technicolor, 3D moments within the 24-bit, 192kHz treatment from Qobuz. Annother uncommon nonetheless telling tackle modified into listening to cricket-love tape-recorder sounds chirping within the background on Jackson Browne’s blended hotel-room/stay efficiency-stage recording of “The Twin carriageway,” from his musical verité-styled Running on Empty. I never heard these tape reels spinning on the fashioned vinyl pressing.

On the current-baked music entrance, I felt love I modified into sitting within the entrance row paying consideration to Chick Corea’s current Plays solo stay efficiency mash-up of renowned jazz and classical airs; likewise with the sunny, spirit-lifting, gospel/soul/jazz fusion of Gregory Porter’s All Rise. And I gladly took a deep gut punch from Public Enemy’s slamming Fight the Vitality: Remix 2020.

The Bluesound particular person experience

Don’t let my warning about the Powernode 2i’s learning curve fright you away from thinking about this instrument. BluOS has developed over time and continues to enhance. Its fresh menu progress, with its incandescent album art, is handiest in class. On the assorted hand, I in fact indulge in a first-rate gripe with the manner Bluesound expects you to navigate its BluOS Controller app.

Diving into the core music-streaming providers and products is easy ample, nonetheless performing some assorted projects might per chance be confusing and slack. It takes design too many taps, to illustrate, upright to plight up a situation checklist or playlist as one the 40 available presets. I’d mighty win a easy “tap the center image to set up your common.”

Jonathan Takiff / IDG

Bluesound touts Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility, nonetheless you’ll must memorize highly particular phrases to call up one of many 40 presets you programmed. It’s most likely you’ll’t upright yelp “Play Beyoncé,” as an illustration, it be considerable to impart “Alexa, request Blue Narrate to play preset four on Living Room” (or no topic name you’ve assigned the Powernode 2i). Hardcore full of life-house dwellers, meanwhile, will adore the blueprint integrations the Powernode 2i supplies, alongside side Control4, Crestron, Elan, and Lutron.

Audio settings are one more head scratcher. A bunch intended for EQ are in most cases ineffective, and one more one is entirely counterintuitive: Toddle in a powered subwoofer, as I did, and you’ll must navigate to “Decide out Related Audio system” within the app. Once there, you’ll tap a button labeled “No Subwoofer.” This prompts a crossover to route frequencies beneath 80Hz from the stereo audio system to the subwoofer out. Ought to you don’t indulge in a sub, you’ll must accomplish obvious that the “With Subwoofer” icon is shapely. Got it? Took me some time.

The Powernode 2i also reacts poorly to community outages. Even short breaks brought on it to lose its connection to my Xfinity XB7 gateway, which supposed I could per chance now no longer alter the participant by activity of Android, iOS, or Windows till I rebooted every thing.

Jonathan Takiff / IDG

Fortunately, there is an effortless repair for this. Plod into your router’s particular person interface (or request Bluesound’s tech-enhance team to construct it for you) and reserve the IP take care of assigned to the Powernode 2i. That commerce made a world of difference for me, altering my outlook from “Ample already!” to “I could per chance happily stay with this.” The apps on my Lenovo notebook computer, iMac desktop, Samsung Galaxy Show 8, and iPad now all tear tender and big hasty. I’m quiet encountering the occasional app lockup on my iPhone X, nonetheless Bluesound told me “we’re taking a peep into it. We’re never carried out tweaking this product.”

I had hoped that the Powernode 2i would issue HDMI to level to album art on my TV, nonetheless it absolutely doesn’t. Its sole motive is to play audio coming in out of your TV. And it does that completely dazzling.

Bottom line

The Powernode 2i is for music lovers who care deeply about audio quality and are involving to endure with just a few quirks and a less-than-stellar particular person interface to procure it. Most of its shortcomings are instrument related and attributable to this truth fixable. There’s no guarantee that will ever occur, though, so don’t rob one if usability trumps musicality on your book. Verify out Sonos’ offerings, in its keep, upright know that you just won’t procure excessive-res audio that design.

Bluesound packs a lot of price into this instrument, nonetheless if you’ve got already acquired an amplifier you love, it also supplies the passive Bluesound Node 2i at $549. It has the complete same aspects less the amplifier and HDMI. We’ll indulge in a review of that mannequin soon.

• Bluesound Powernode 2i (with HDMI)

  Bluesound’s Powernode 2i is a 21st-century mini blueprint that will lift excessive-choice audio from any offer you join to it, ranging from a NAS box to your mobile instrument; one of the best music-streaming providers and products to disc gamers.

  Experts

  • No competitor delivers greater efficiency at this designate
  • High-quality amplifier and DAC
  • HDMI and two-design Bluetooth enhance
  • Helps every excessive-choice music-streaming provider

  Cons

  • BluOS Controller might per chance be wonky to issue
  • Would no longer gracefully procure effectively from community outages
  • Must issue stilted language to manipulate with a digital assistant