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All Hail the meek --yet mighty – NODE 2i

Here’s a salute to the venerable Bluesound NODE 2i. It’s not much to look at, but what piece of audio gear has been more ubiquitous and held up better over the past ten years than the NODE 2i? It opened the door to the wonders of quality streaming audio for legions of us. I’m guessing the lion’s share of us on this forum have owned or are very familiar with the NODE. So let’s take a moment to acknowledge and applaud that it has been the mainstream standard for nearly a decade. How many other pieces of gear have come and gone in our systems over that timeframe while the NODE continued to sit humbly on its perch?

But I’m not writing an obituary here. The Node 2i continues to be the standard, in my mind, for sub-$1000k streamers – and then some. With smartphones and cars -- even though they might have years of service left in them --we reach a point where we want something new. So it is with audio gear. Like many, I got caught up in the hype of the latest Chinese streamer last year. At first, I was amazed at its level of detail. But with time I realized that the detail came from an overly bright top end, and that other frequencies, especially bass, were lacking. When I put the NODE back into my system, it was music to my ears. Over the entire spectrum, it was simply better. With the NODE the mids and treble still had plenty of detail, but they also had body and tone – and musicality. And let’s not overlook its excellent and rock-solid user interface software. All it lacked was the sexy touch screen that I never actually touched.

I also tried a $3k streamer last fall. It was excellent across the entire spectrum, but its overall sound was dry and analytical. I can’t claim the NODE was better, but in many ways, I preferred its more natural sonic signature, and in terms of price, there is no comparison. I couldn’t justify spending that much money for only minor improvements.  

So here’s to the NODE 2i. I will continue to keep my eyes open for a streamer upgrade that is reasonably priced and that is actually a noticeable improvement, but until then I’m going to continue to enjoy my NODE 2i without apology. Anybody else out there agree with me?

wester17

Showing 1 response by helomech

helomech
1,769 posts
 

I own a Node N130 into an external DAC (Topping E70 Velvet) along with the Eversolo DMP-A8 streamer. With the Node/Topping combo, I use the Benchmark LA4 for preamp duties.

The Eversolo’s DAC is similar to the Topping’s. Both are capable of state-of-the-art performance as independently verified in measurements. Same for the Eversolo’s preamp vs the Benchmark. 

Despite these similarities, I find the Bluesound consistently sounds leaner (with the Topping and other DACs) than the Eversolo. The bass and lower midrange of the Eversolo is “meatier” and less fatiguing. Not that the Node is fatiguing per se, it’s merely less refined relative to the Eversolo.

Initially, I figured that maybe the Eversolo was inverting its XLR polarity, but regardless of switching between its “forward” and “reverse” polarity options, the same character remains. As of now I am enjoying the Eversolo’s presentation a little more, but I do wonder it I’d miss the versatility of separates.

Anyhow, both streamers are excellent when considered as streamers alone. The Node’s built-in DAC was disappointing, however, paired with an outboard DAC like the Topping E70V, the sound quality is exceptional, and not just for the price. 

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