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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
linnvolk
90 posts
 

I have been running my second system built on a Node 2i for about 3 years. Other components are NAD integrated C 316BEE and Klipsch RP600M speakers. This is my garage (AKA woodshop AKA Garage Mahal) system. It makes me happy every time I turn it on.

Grilles protect speakers from wood dust, and amplifier and Node 2i are on the top shelf of my kitchen pantry just on the other side of the wall from the garage. I drilled through the wall to run the speaker cable.

Control is via Roon on my iPhone.

The Node 2i was the perfect component for this system. 

mksun
438 posts
 

It’s definitely good for the money. Initially I thought the software was terrible and clunky to use, but it has definitely improved with subsequent upgrades. 

jester115
3 posts
 

I had a Node 2i in my main system for a couple years and thought it was great, had an upgraded power cable for it and things were better, then did the PD Creative/Allo Shanti LPS power upgrade hoping for a big difference but it was maybe only marginally better than before. Always used a standalone DAC though so maybe the difference would be more dramatic if using the internal DAC only.

I have since upgraded to an Auralic Aries G1.1 streamer and it was a dramatic difference in sound quality. I have that feeding into an Yggdrasil MIB and a Musical Fidelity M6si and it sounds incredible. The Node is now in my garage system, it’s probably the best in its price range, but the higher end streamers do make a noticeable difference. And Auralic supports Amazon Music as well, one of the only brands other than Bluesound that I know of.

vthokie83
709 posts
 

Been running a Bluesound Node 130, LHY LPS, to Denafrips Iris DDC, to Denafrips Pontus II DAC for nearly 3 years.....and it's been rock solid without failure, and sounds great. That said, a new Innuous/Aurender/Lumin will be feeding the Pontus by the end of the year

helomech
1,537 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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