Bluesound Powernode (2021)
While we have seen a significant rise in brands including just-add-speaker systems in their ranges of late, Bluesound has been in the game for years with its Powernode, and can be considered something of a veteran.
The one under the spotlight here is the fourth-generation model, which succeeds the 2018-released Powernode 2i and returns to the original suffix-less name as it does so. Those familiar with the Canadian company’s product line-up won’t be surprised to read that this Powernode remains an amplified version of the company’s Node music streamer, the latest version of which is a 2022 What Hi-fi? Award winner at its entry-level price point.
While not in terms of box count, the Powernode is designed to be two thirds of your system – your source and your amp. Add the third compulsory element, stereo speakers, and your system doesn’t need to be more than three boxes. It can be more, of course; the Powernode’s USB socket and twin mini Toslink/3.5mm combo inputs provide the option to add a music-filled USB drive or other audio source, while an HDMI EARC socket can accommodate your TV set-up. An output can cater for an external subwoofer, though if you want to connect a turntable, you will need to add a phono stage, whether that’s integrated into the turntable or in a separate box.
Generous soul
Without plugging anything into it, the Powernode itself is a generous soul as a source. Its wi-fi and ethernet port, built-in streamer (based on BLUOS software) and the companion BLUOS Controller app together offer steely-gated entry to tens of music streaming services thanks to good integration as well as support for Airplay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. Or you can simply stick to accessing and playing music (up to 24-bit/192khz, Mqainclusive) stored locally on your device or on your network.
Those entertaining that last option may be pleased to know the Powernode supports music management platform Roon, although the Powernode’s BLUOS is itself a multi-device streaming software platform from which Bluos-enabled hardware (not just from Bluesound but also NAD and Dali) can be connected and controlled together – in the app or using voice control (Google Assistant or the dedicated Bluvoice skill in the Alexa app).
Your offline option is, aside from wiring in other sources, aptx HD Bluetooth which is implemented two-way, so you can send files from a device to the Powernode and transmit songs playing through the device to wireless headphones or speakers, rather than using the Powernode’s 3.5mm jack. If your source and headphones/speakers are aptx Hd-compatible, you can wirelessly transmit (compressed) 24-bit music.
So far, this is an identical specification to the Node; the Powernode’s big differentiator is the 80 watts per channel
of ‘Hybriddigital’ power amplification, which has been developed by NAD (Bluesound’s sister brand) and is naturally found in its amps of recent years. The amplifier inside the Powernode is more powerful than that used in the previous generation, which delivered a relatively lowly 60 watts per channel. And the generational leap from an engineering aspect is also defined by more advanced DACS as well as more powerful processors that Bluesound says are “eight times faster than previous generations of Bluesound architecture” and therefore capable, to an extent, of handling future software-based technologies that the Powernode could offer down the line via firmware updates.
For now, though, the Powernode is nicely equipped, lacking only the Cd-playing ability of the Technics SA-C600 – and, crucially, that is complemented by a talented performance. The Powernode is an engagingly musical performer, dynamically fluid and punchy, with plenty of energy to bestow on tracks that warrant it. While Bluesound products have aligned themselves with a rich tonal balance in the past, the latest generation of Node and Powernode have veered away from this slightly. They are now more neutral sounding in the way they deliver music, while also making gains in clarity and insight across the frequency range.
Rhythmic potency
Essentially what has always been an informative and entertaining presentation is now even more so. We play Conor Oberst’s Overdue and the acoustic strings twang with a good degree of tangibility. The Bluesound tracks the undulation of the harmonica and strumming well, and pays just as much scrutiny to Oberst’s front-and-centre vocal, which comes through the mix bold and full.
Over to Low’s What Part Of Me and the snappy rhythm that underpins the track is unsurprisingly tight and well-driven. It’s this rhythmic potency that plays into the hands of particularly fun speakers, as we find switching from our reference ATC
SCM50 to the JBL 4309. Worth considering when thinking of partnering speakers.
There’s not as much rhythmic impetus behind, or sit-up-and-listen directness to, the Marantz PM7000N’S rendition – but it does enough to still be considered musical and counters the Bluesound’s cheerful cadence with a wider-scale, roomier soundstage and greater subtlety. Play Promises – a genre-spanning collaborative album by electronic musician Floating Points, jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra
– and the Bluesound gives instruments texture and is clear and cohesive in the way it presents them; the Marantz simply plots instrumental strands that bit more precisely on its expansive sonic canvas.
That there aren’t many streaming amplifiers available at this relatively modest price point almost means the Powernode is among the best by default. But this undermines its obvious sonic talent and the leap it has made from its predecessor, not to mention the wellroundedness of the feature set that makes Bluesound products so appealing.
In every way, the Powernode is better than ever in its fourth generation – and all told, that is really, really good.
“THE POWERNODE IS AS WELL-SPECIFIED AS STREAMING AMPS COME, AND THAT’S COMPLEMENTED BY A TALENTED PERFORMANCE”