Welcome Bluesound!
Bluesound makes a group of reasonably priced products to move music around your house. Bluesound is unique compared to its competitors in that it plays Hi-Res files and decodes MQA as well!
You can connect Node 2 to your preamp, integrated amp or receiver- and all the music of your computer is now there, with no loss. Bluesound makes a Power Node 2 with gutsy on board amp as well. Bluesound also offers an array of “boom boxes” to play the music as well.
Again, Bluesound supports Hi-Res!
And even further, Bluesound supports MQA!
Bluesound gives us the best way to move high quality music around our house, whether to a hi-fi system or with one of their boom boxes. Because Bluesound supports 24bit files and MQA, it is a technological step up from ANYONE ELSE (Sonos/Heos) currently serving this market!
Bluesound Node 2 $500
Node 2 grabs your WIFI signal wirelessly, or wired. It then connects to a preamp/integrated amp/receiver- to present your saved music or streaming service. You can sprinkle Node 2s around your house to multiple systems! Node 2 can be wired if you prefer.
Bluesound Power Node 2: $800
Power Node 2 is a Node 2 with a 60×2 amp on board. Hence it can drive some very respectable speakers!
Pulse Mini
Pulse 2: $700
Pulse Mini: $500
Pulse Flex: $300
Emotiva MC-700 Preamp Processor $600
Emo has just introduced an HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2, preamp/processor for only $600! Up to now, if you wanted a nice pre/pro for under $2k, you had to buy a receiver with pre outs. That was fine, but of course a good chunk of that money was going for amps you wouldn’t likely use.
With the introduction of MC-700, we’ve got a 6 HDMI input piece (plus 2 analogs) ready to fire up your multi-channel power amp. Speaking of which…
Emotiva A-500 Power Amp, $500, 80×5
If you’re looking for a 5ch amp that sounds clean, is inexpensive and you’re not abusive, A-500 is the best choice.
A-500 delivers 80w into all 5 channels simultaneously. If you look at receiver specs… they’re playing fast and loose with the numbers. A 100×7 receiver, will only produce about 50 watts per channel with all 5 channels driven simultaneously, 20-20k, at distortion levels approaching 1%. Sometimes they snow you with a 6 or 4 ohm rating at 1k to boot!
In A-500 you’re getting a much stronger amp. It will deliver 80×5, 20-20k, at 8 ohms with THD of under .1%.
In a surround receiver rated 125×7, with all channels driven, you’d be lucky to hit 70 watts.
With MC-700 and A-500, you’ve only invested $1200. That’s receiver price territory and yet you’re getting legit separates.
Emotiva A-700 Power Amp, $600, 80×7
A-700 delivers seven channels times 80w. There are multiple uses for that extra couple of channels of horse power. More speakers. Bi-amping. Hmmm- the possibilities!
Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)
Mozart’s foil had a comment in real life that was quite in keeping with the portrayal in
“Amadeus.”
Of Mozart’s death, Salieri said to fellow composers, “It is a pity to lose so great a genius, but it’s a good thing for us that he is dead. For if he had lived much longer, we should not have earned a crust of bread by our compositions.”