Audiophilepure

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“The Bluesound’s commendable sense of soundstage takes the deceptively complex arrangement of Fink’s No Sleep and creates a convincing and cohesive sense of space in front of the listener. The Spendor A1 undoubtedly helps here, but the Powernode 2i demonstrates that it is extremely capable of making sense of any recording and even the challenging Dionysus by Dead Can Dance is delivered in a remarkably engaging manner. Having said that, the larger scale of this album does reveal the Powernode’s limitations and it begins to sound a little strained as the volume level increases and it may also struggle with less forgiving speakers or to drive larger rooms.

Working within its comfort zone, however, the Bluesound makes for a consistently engaging listen. It has a good grasp of rhythm and timing and delivers a sonic performance that does a fine job of ensuring that less up tempo material flows precisely as it should while also letting the joyously exuberant Tokyo by White Lies move with the pace and impact it deserves. While bass depth is never truly seismic, there is enough pace and detail to connect with and engage any listener.

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“As a desktop hub, the Vena II proved highly attractive as an all-day listening companion, playing everything from radio streams to random music thrown up by Roon radio in a mixture of file formats. It was also able to prove its abilities when used into headphones, driving the likes of the Focal Spirit Pro [HFN Dec ’15] and Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature [HFN Mar ’17] to impressive effect, the new amp circuitry giving a sound both well-weighty and informative, and with excellent grip on the ‘phones in use.

It was only when I reached the final track of 2002’s The Symphonic Eric Coates [Chandos CHAN 9869] that I was tempted to move the amp back to the listening room and onto the big speakers again to give the music full rein. Yes, I’d given in to temptation, and magnificent the Vena II sounded too, powering out the BBC Philharmonic under Rumon Gamba playing ‘The Dam Busters March’ – it had to be done, really.”