Bluesound POWERNODE 2i V2 Wireless Multi-Room Streaming High-Res Amplifier (with HDMI) - Black - Compatible with Alexa and Siri

I have Tidal subscription and I was looking for something compact all in one for bedroom to power up my Elac B6.2. Powernode 2i does a great job. It pairs well with B6.2. My main system is Buchardt S400 speakers with Parasound Newclassic 200 integrated amp just to give you some context of my expectation in music reproduction. I find Elac B6.2 to be on a dark and warm side and PowerNode 2i opens them up even at lower volumes. Something that emotiva ta-100 + a-300 could not do that well. I’m strictly talking about the sound when using Tidal. Vocals are slightly on lean side but very clear and delicate sounding. Something very appealing about the sound. Music Becomes punchy at higher volumes which I greatly appreciate. Best part is that you can program tv remote to this unit and change imputs as well as control volume. You can set up auto sensor on for imput of tv this way when you turn on tv the powernode 2i will automatically detect audio signal. It has plenty of imputs. You can set up presets to a remote so with one button you can play Tidal or Amazon music. It has airplay which works. However, in order to enjoy spotify not in airplay you would need premium subscription. Wish that was not the case. Just had this unit for 2 days and I really enjoy it. Hope it will last and will update my review if need arises.Update: RPD mentioned the glitch when headphones are connected sound still comes out of the speakers at low volumes. That does happen in my unit as well. I also started getting some technical issues when i turn on my tv volume goes in and out couple times while blue light is blinking than volume completely goes off and I have to press volume up on a remote for volume to come back. Hopefully that gets addressed with update. I still thing this product sounds great and is a great solution with a big convenience factor. I wish they added EQ function in the app to control more frequency bands than just treble and Base. I’m big on vocals and I like them to be slightly dominant. This unit does some serious DSP

This unit is remarkable for the number of features, amazingly small form factor, and sound quality. I have compared it directly to electronics costing more than 10x as much, and frankly cannot hear a SQ difference, using the same speakers. However, in actual use I find the unit very irritating because of the poorly engineered volume control system (s).Assuming you are streaming music to the unit, the problem starts when you first make a connection. If you have not checked to ensure that your phone's volume setting is low, music will BLAST out of your speakers, the higher your phone setting the worse this is. You will upset your wife and pets and the sudden blast of power cannot be good for your speakers.You cannot fix this issue because the preamp in this unit does not have an "initial loudness" setting. Every preamp I've had includes this and you set it for -50db or so and adjust from there after making a connection. This unit does have a volume limiter but that doesn't do you any good, you'd have to change it every time you used the unit. Your only solution is to be sure and check the volume setting on your phone before using the unit.After you're connected the problems with volume control do not end. You have 4 options for controlling the volume, none of them satisfactory.1. You can use the the volume control on your phone. This is highly inaccurate and you invariably overshoot and then undershoot the volume you want.2. You can buy the remote, but it does the same thing as your phone does, overshoot or undershoot and becomes very frustrating. You end up "tapping" the volume control buttons and eventually just give up.3. If you happen to be standing next to the unit itself, you can tap or hold the volume up/down controls on top of the unit. Obviously not a reasonable solution if you’re not close to the unit. And these controls are no more accurate than those on your phone or on the remote.4. This last option is the best in terms of accuracy and control, but it requires opening the Bluesound app, tapping on the song that is playing, and this gives you access to + and - buttons that actually work well. The problem is you likely want to work from the Spotify app (or whatever service you're using) and not have to go back and forth between apps just to adjust the volume.So in summary this is a tremendous product crippled by a poorly thought out volume control system. If the issues I've mentioned won't bother you by all means get the unit and enjoy the terrific performance. However, if you're accustomed to using preamps with appropriate volume control, or just are not a patient person, this unit will drive you nuts.

If you have passive speakers (in my case, for my outside patio, also have a POWERNODE 2i V@ powering my in ceiling Sonus Faber PC 562Ps in my living/great room) that need amplification and want streaming media possibilities (Spotify, Tidal, etc...), look no further. Sounds great and will drive some pretty challenging speaker loads to a high volume. All you need is power, ethernet/wifi, and a set of speakers. This could conceivably be a full system replacement for those looking to downsize/move to a more 'invisible" setup. for those wanting to connect to TVs, HDMI ARC is included and works flawlessly. Highly recommended.