Bluesound - NODE 2i Streaming Media Player - Black

I did a lot of research on multi room streaming players and this hits the mark! Very easy to set up. Sound quality is excellent (So far I’ve only used it with Tidal). I currently have it connected to my Denon receiver and Polk RTi speakers in my 2.1 setup (Audio only). Will be upgrading speakers soon along with a new integrated Amplifier as I don’t need a receiver in this setup. There are a full range of streaming platforms available to Bluesound. You can also stream Apple Music to it via Airplay2, which is also crystal clear and far better SQ than Bluetooth. Looking forward to adding a few of the Bluesound speakers around the house soon for multi room audio

I purchased this after owning Sonos products for a decade, with the main reason being the desire to stream hi-res music (using Tidal as my primary source). Overall, I am very happy with this and only regret not buying it sooner. I like the software, interface more than Sonos. My biggest concern was the software, specifically the poor reviews (as of writing) the app has on the Android and iOS stores. After using it heavily on both an iPhone and Samsung tablet, I am happy to report not only has it been perfectly stable, but I prefer it to the Sonos app. Yes, there are a few small ergonomic things I would like to see improved, but we are talking about the small flaws (or decisions) you find in everything - nothing that gets in the way of finding, listening to your music. My biggest gripe with the software is for files on your local drive, it will 'double count' tracks in an album if you happen to have copies elsewhere. This can be mitigated by navigating directly to the folder you want to play. Again, small quirks, not major issues that get in the way of finding, listening to your music. The hardware is very nice. I appreciate the physical buttons on the unit, the extensive port selection, tons of included cables, great build quality, and NOT having an external power supply (no 'wall wart' to deal with). I can't comment on sound quality, as I run it into an external DAC (using the digital coax output), so all I can validate is this device is happy to support hi-res music, and pass it to my DAC (where it sounds great). If you have no idea what that means, don't worry, professional reviewers have validated this unit sounds VERY good by itself (without using extras)! Perfect? No. But nothing is going to be. What you get is an extremely-competent streamer that handles all of the common hi-res formats and lets you find, play them easily. There is a lot to like and only a few very small quirks which ultimately do not impact the use of this device.

I'll start this by saying views and opinions on hifi gear are completely subjective - much like wine tasting so your experience could be completely different. After a month using the Bluesound it's getting sent back. After trying really hard to like it, I spent a weekend with a friend in his studio extensively listening via bluesound and multiple other audio streaming devices, couple of TVs, PC, Raspbery Pis with various USB & hat DAC's and more... I wanted the BlueSound to be 'so good' based on the reviews, but was very underwhelmed. We were using reference equipment and dedicated switching to seamlessly flip between speakers/amps/dacs/sources... As scientific as possible, but still subjective. Delivery from the DAC was very uninspiring, and bypassing the DAC did not reproduce an exciting experience so 'something' is happening in that black box. A minor point, the app is lacking functionality - downright frustrating at times, but I could have lived with that if the audio reproduction was 'better'. I really wanted it to work, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

Never heard music with such clarity. Not very good at writing reviews, never heard voices music such emotional and clarity

Just one complaint like to fall sleep with music and let the timer go off in unit but no luck here timer does not work at all But other than the unit is all good

This is a great product! I had an Apple AirPort Express for many years to stream my music to my stereo. It went out and they don’t make them anymore and I had tried several Bluetooth products but none of the worked very well...some quality, some distance issues. So I have been researching fo a high quality product for steaming Spotify and this is it. It was an easy set and it works great. The sound quality is very impressive. I highly recommend this product. It’s worth the price.

Great sound. Easy to install. Solid build. Price just right.

I’ve grown to like it. Once broken in the sound improves. The ap gets great reviews but I think it could be improved alot. I also don't like that there is no power switch do it is on all the time. Streaming seems good and it sounds about the same as a cd. Note however, I use my cd dac which improved the sound .