Bluesound Node Rega io amp Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 System £1218
Our final system to produce a hi-fi sound far greater than one ought to expect from the sum of its parts is a separates streaming system that mixes the newest technology with a touch of old-school nostalgia – and is all the better for it.
This is a traditional amplifier and speaker set-up with a modern source. And the joy of this combination – apart from the stunning sound it provides, of course – is that you can plug in a turntable and another source (a CD player, perhaps) for a set-up that covers all bases.
All three of these products are current What Hi-Fi? Award winners. It doesn’t always follow that one Award winner will complement others, but this trio proves that, when it works, it works beautifully.
Regenerate to dominate
Bluesound reclaimed its music-streamer Award last year, with the introduction of the newest generation of Node. Its main rival, the Audiolab 6000N Play is a strong competitor, but we feel it is bested by the Bluesound in the end.
As we said in our original review: “feed the Node a rhythm, as we happily do with Nas’ The Message, and the Bluesound snaps into action, throwing itself into the lucid beat uninhibited and tightly knitting it together with the guitar pattern. His rap is forthcoming and expressive in the mix and there’s a natural sense of free-flowing dynamics to everything. The Audiolab is agile and far from dull musically, but comparatively does sound polite.”
The amplifier here has been seen before in this round-up – in the Rega System One (p39) – but we make no apologies for its repeat appearance. It merely reflects the io’s dominance in this area. The io brings a wonderful sense of rhythm, detail and fun to proceedings that is thoroughly infectious and has us coming back for more time and again.
The Rega might not be the first amp to be thought of as an integral part of a streaming system �
