Make way for the future....

Hello,
I think this newish all in one solution is great for what it is. The new BlueSound Powernode is supposed to have more power and HDMI ARC. Everyone has their phone with them anyways so you can control the App. From your portable device. Do you really need a screen on the components? As far as the NAD M33 goes, it is amazing! It should be for $5k. Especially because of Dirac. If you really want to have the best, you can go with the Ayre EX-8 2.0 fully loaded. This is a true all in one Audiophile solution. A system does not impress me by how loud it plays. My Amazon Alexa does that just fine. It’s playing at very low volume levels and still hearing the full dynamic range. It has to have a killer preamp section. Try this out for yourself. If you live near the Chicagoland area this Hifi store has most or all of these brands. https://holmaudio.com/
If you do audition, Ask how low can you go. This will separate all of these brands very quickly. Ayre EX-8 2.0 is so good you don’t even need to add a subwoofer, but you can if you want.

Long ago, when I could still hear the differences I no longer easily can, I tried a Marantz 7C with a Sansui AU5500 amp section, bypassing the Sansui preamp.  Astonishingly better...no comparison really.  Then using the Marantz 8B amp instead of the Sansui amp...not much difference...the preamp was the key.  That, and the Sansui amp was way better engineered than their preamp. 
As for McIntosh being all show and no go, that was true in the 70s and 80s.  Now, they are quite competetive with the spartan brands on basic sound quality.  Ayre is a cut above, IMO. 
If you've read Paul Seydor's reviews over the years, have you come to respect his opinions?  Who are you going to trust, a dealer or the reviewer?  Both have agendas, albeit different ones.

Seems to me a nice solution for the urban apartment dweller who can't have a large floor standing system/speakers. Come home, hit the on button and music. Not my cuppa but not everything has to be, eh?

Happy Listening.

What fun is that? I like my myriad of boxes and components, each has its own Job to do. I stream with a simple grace internet radio to a dac, sounds good enough to me @ only $159. 99% of the time I'm listening to lp's, cd's, and cassettes, or the good Ole fm tuner.

Years ago, I got a great deal of pleasure using a Linn Klassik with a pair of Spica TC-50s. Did it sound like my current system with separate components, including the much larger Maggies and much better Oppo? No but during the late 90s and 00s, it was pretty damn good.