Node Performance Multi-Room Hi-Res Wireless Music Streamer - Black

As an 'audiophile' (I hate that term!) I have a relatively costly vinyl/cd based system, but thought I'd squander some money on a 'budget' streamer (for many, £500 is not budget, but look at the price of Linn or Naim streamers!) to see why there has been a reported decline in the physical digital format (CD's) and whether it was 'good enough' to satisfy. My expectation was that it would not sound as good as my CD player (Rega Saturn 3) nor anywhere near my turntable?First impression, using my RCA leads directly into my amplifier (using the built in DAC) was, surprisingly good, with high levels of detail.Then I decided to purchase a good quality co-axial cable, to connect to the DAC in my CD player, bypassing the Node's built-in DAC,and, again, a further improvement, with better body and a bit more depth to the sound.Overall, pleasantly surprised. It looks good too, and enables me to explore a huge range of music, which, at the end of the day, I can then order a vinyl copy of, if I want to avail myself of better sound quality.Four stars only because, ultimately, I feel that streaming (at least via this budget streamer) lags behind Vinyl record replay, though is close to CD, and there may be a hint of dynamic restraint, and slightly compromised upper frequencies (though this means that the sound is always listenable, and never audio fatigue inducing!) I also auditioned a WIMM streamer, of similar price, but that, to my ears sounded too digital, and therefore artificial (my opinion) compared to the Bluesound!Overall, very happy with the Node, and can recommend as a means to access a huge amount of music.One warning. Can make you very lazy, as you don't have to get up to turn the record over!!

So….. after buying some Focal Bathys to replace the B&W PX8s with a bad battery I started listening to them with my phone and then on my PC. The PC experience was poor. Not as bad as with the PX8s but poor, constant interruptions and the occasional crackle none of which seemed to be solvable with PC settings. I have a few Blue Tooth devices and to be honest my Sennheiser Momentum 3s and Apple AirPod Max headphones seemed to shrug off Bluetooth issue, but the Bathys sounded so much better. Then I listened to them using the built in DAC plugged into my PC using a USB cable and they were so fabulous I resolved not to use Bluetooth if I was sat down in my home office. But…. The USB-C cable seemed to be less than solid in the slot and slight movements seemed to disconnect it momentarily and give rise to irritating messages. Then there are notifications and memory issues and all manner of other things going on that made me realise that what I needed was connection to a proper DAC and a music streamer that buffered my music and was dedicated to doing only one thing, playing music. So I had planned on buying a cheaper streamer and DAC/headphone amp but on the advice of someone who knew what they were talking about, I got this. It is sonically fabulous there are no interruptions or interference with my musical enjoyment as it is pulling music directly from Amazon via WiFi and buffering it. It has also indexed all the music on my PC and could take a feed from my TV or any other source via an optical cable. It is a 3 in 1 device streamer, DAC and headphone amp. It’s controllable via a phone app or a windows app, which I far prefer. I haven’t connected it to speakers as my only use case is for headphones. My main hifi is in a different room and these will operate as a multi room system if you buy more than one. The windows app is nowhere near as good as the Amazon Music app and although you can create playlists in the app they’re Bluesound playlists not Amazon music playlists which can be read in the app but not edited from within the app. That aside this works well. I use the same keyboard, mouse and monitor hooked into my work laptop too and if everything is flicked over to the work laptop I just control the Node with the phone app. The same day as the Node arrived the Hifiman Deva Pro arrived too. These are cheap but fabulous open back planar headphones that also come with a Hymalaya R2R DAC /amp. They’re just a little bright but combined with the node they just sound amazing. My daughter tried them plugged into the Bluesound Node and she said she had “never been inside a song before”. Anyway I don’t regret my purchase at all with both the Bathys and the Deva Pros I am in audio desktop heaven and I’m listening to music again like I haven’t for 25 years. Lost in it as hours pass. Sadly now falling down that rabbit hole and thinking what it might be like if I spend another £1000 on some special cans from Senheisser, Hifiman, Grado or Focal.I’m giving this 4 stars as I’d like to knock one off for the app not saving Amazon Music Playlists ( although on a PC there is no issue with having Amazon music open at the same time and editing playlists). I think it should also come with USB-C out if I want to connect up an external DAC although this can be done via an optical cable or coax. It would also be nice if it came with a 1/8 to 1/4 headphone socket adapter too.At the end of the day I have no real reservations recommending this and I don’t regret spending the money at all. There are cheaper products but this company has been in the business a long time and these are supposed to be reliable.