Bluesound Powernode Wireless Multi-Room High Resolution Music Streaming Amplifier - White

UPDATE 9/2024. After 2 years, the unit completely died. I opted to have it serviced out of warranty at my local electronics shop, turns out a new power supply was required. The cost for repair was around about 300 USD. I have noticed the unit tends to stay warm. It was housed within a small bookshelf, not completely sealed, but without much ventilation. I have since moved it to the top shelf for maximum ventilation. I don’t know what caused the power supply to fail, but the unit should not have failed this quickly. Although I am disappointed, I still think this unit is very good for what it is.Now my original review:Not a whole lot I can add to the positive reviews. This is paired with my B&W bookshelf speakers for a rich and detailed sound. There is almost no setup time right out of the box. Although the amp is class D, there is no harshness or leanness with B&W speakers. This system just delivers sound in a pleasing way. Lots to be said for technology, class D is very efficient and runs cooler in a small form factor. The only downside, it may not drive low impedance speakers to high volume levels due to insufficient current.I like the support for Apple Airplay, a Wi-Fi connection is used to transmit sound from your iPad and is technically a higher bandwidth than the lofi Bluetooth protocols supported by IOS devices.A nice bonus you can use any remote, it will learn the codes from you favorite remote.The built in MQA hardware support requires an upgraded Tidal account. While the politics of MQA are interesting, what matters to the end consumer is how it sounds. After listening for a week, my take on MQA it’s sort of like a sophisticated tone control. It can make a track sound more spacious and airy with more clarity and definition of instruments. While some tracks sound better with MQA, can’t tell with other tracks. CD quality tracks that sound “flat“ stand to benefit the most from MQA. You will be able to do some AB comparisons in Tidal, judge for yourself. I personally like MQA as an option.

I'm not knocking multi component hi-fi, it has its appeal. But having it all in one box...especially when it all just works...is great. Sound quality is fantastic, as is the blueos ecosystem. Bottom line, it lets me sit back and enjoy my music. (Except I went out last week and bought 2 new speakers and a sub...maybe the search doesn't ever end!) I will be buying their soundbar next.On a side note. The first unit delivered by Amazon was used stock being sold as new and it wasn't even operational used stock! Sent sparks flying all over my room! I contacted Bluesound and feel confident that this was beyond their power to control. It was an Amazon issue. Just be sure to double check your boxes and make sure they are sealed from the factory.

Couldn't be happier. This has great sound quality for the price and is super responsive. The Phone app is wonderful and easy to use. I love how you can prioritize TV over stereo and it automatically switches inputs. Using Tidal, Spotify, Alexa and other inputs without issue. By far the easiest to setup receiver I've ever had.

The product creates great sound and is easy to use, but less than 3 years after purchase, there are no lights on the unit. I worked with support and they determined that it was a hardware problem, but being 3 years old, the best they could do was offer me a $475 refurbished replacement. I will never do business with them again and do not recommend anyone else buy their products either. The expected lifespan when I purchased it was 10 years+.

I am comparing to a Arcam SA20 90 watt stereo which does sound a bit better with a set of Elac Ribbon twitter speakers.Overall the Arcam is a bit better when paired with a Bluesound Node or Nano to stream music. That said, it is good, with good power. I like to small footprint and that it matches my white speakers(so did my Node). I am going to keep it because my Arcam doesn't have an HDMI that works with my TV.The phone app can be annoying and require you to manually change it back to Spotify after watching TV. I think this is annoying but is easier then having to use my stereo remote to change the TV volume.Overall, its nice for its small form factor. If that wasn't a priority I would get a RZ50 stereo and pair it with a nano. This way you get more channels/options.

Best seller. Good product.

It was a little quirky at setup in which it showed an error on the app when trying to join my wifi, but when I went back into the app the settings were transferred successfully. Then it attempted to start updating and it gave a weird error message. I again went back to the app and it showed it was in the process updating. Outside of those weird messages, the setup was painless. I was able to instantly get Qobuz linked to Bluesound along with Roon able to quickly find the PowerNode.Once I chose a song the music just easily came out of my two ELAC 2.0 Debut Shelf Speakers. PowerNode had no issues powering those bad boys. I was able to test running music directly from the BlueOS app and Roon and they were painless. Highly recommended.

This is a super convenient, great sounding unit that is very easy to love. Took me 5 minutes to set it up, attach my speakers and start enjoying music. I discover a lot of music on YouTube, especially live stuff that you can’t really find anywhere, I connected my TV to the Bluesound via HDMI and found that it’s also great for movies etc. Overall, it’s an easy and very affordable way to enjoy great sound.