Bluesound Powernode (N330) HD Streaming Player with Amplifier (Black)

I had the HK Citation streaming amp and was impressed with the sound quality. It packed up however after a couple of days with a fault that I later found out was very common with the HK unit. I didn’t want to chance the HK again and after getting a refund and checking reviews I went for the Bluesound as a replacement. Initially a little disappointed but after swopping out my Tannoy speakers for Monitor Audio floor standers I’m now very happy with the sound. Very detailed and goes way louder than comfortable listening levels despite relatively modest 80w per channel. Works beautifully, with great connection options and very solid wi-fi. I also bought the dedicated remote. Bit of a rip off by Bluesound not supplying this with the unit but the remote works great and is much better than using your phone to control the amp.

Breathed new life into my old Acoustic Energy speakers. Coupled with a good streaming service like Qobuz or Tidal the Node sounds superb. Detailed and spacious especially with vocals, acoustic guitar and drums.

Thoroughly frustrating device which frequently has difficulty in connecting to Bluetooth devices with which it has been previously paired. This happens both when receiving from a phone and when outputting to speakers or headphones. I have experienced similar problems trying to stream music and radio via WiFi, with frequent random breaks between the router and the node. The story is the same even when the node is hardwired to the router; it seems to be incapable of playing through an album of music without me having to restart things now and again. All in all, I sincerely regret my purchase and hope that you can avoid having a similarly miserable experience.

As I now only listen to music via downloaded and streamed playlists & albums I was looking for a high performing network player with a powerful integrated amplifier to replace my Denon N10 which was struggling to power my Q Acoustic floor stander speakers. This fitted the bill perfectly and I have also linked up our turntable for those rare nostalgia sessions. I also wanted something with some grunty bass for the floor standers and the Bluesound Powernode delivers this by the spadesful. The soundstage is very impressive and immersive. The bass thumps and can be turned up via the audio settings on the app. The system handles high volumes with ease and clarity. Operation is intuitive and it has everything that a budding audiophile needs at an affordable price. It can even play MQA quality tracks which is the ultimate in quality. So there's nothing missing. For me, the 80wpc was the deal clincher as I needed something powerful. The lack of a remote control was annoying but I bought one and now have the best of all worlds - the app, remote and display touch controls. It really is the one stop solution to 21st century music listening.

Bluesound have quickly built a name for quality and ease of use along with that ability to multiroom. I found it easy to set up and was playing music 20 minutes after getting it out of the box. Airy expressive and sound stage was very good. Really benefits from a sub woofer and you can set the crossover to allow for one. Very good.

Best amp I’ve ever owned and using the BluOS app is a treat

I have two Bluesound streamers already linked to more serious systems and they are the reason I stayed with Bluesound for an all in one for a new room. I can group all the Nodes tother for music throughout the house too which is nice. This amplified unit has surprised me at the price. Driving a 20 year old pair of B&W 603s to very good effect. Crisp and clear with an excellent soundstage At the price I am a Very Happy Customer. As with all the units I have the setup of this has been at times frustrating, especially working out if the Node is streaming Tidal or just running it from my my devices on Bluetooth. There should be a much easier way to distinguish. But that is just a niggle in what is otherwise a unit I have no hesitation in recommending.

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.

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.

Fácil de configurar, fácil de usar, cómodo y suena bien por el precio. Tras 3 semanas de uso muy contento

It is just as expected: functional, compact, decent sound, easy and stable operation, and also decorative.