The Bluesound NODE 2 has scooped Europe‘s most prestigious audio accolade, winning the EISA award for Europe‘s Best Network Media Player 2016-2017.
EISA, the European Imaging and Sound Association, is an independent body of 50 specialist interest magazines across the continent. The award winners are chosen as the best of the best in their category from the thousands of products tested and reviewed by EISA member magazines over the year. The Bluesound NODE 2 stood out against a large and extremely strong field of network audio players and streaming devices, delivering outstanding performance, Hi-Res Audio compatibility and unrivalled versatility.
In an official statement the EISA Awards panel commented of the NODE 2: “The latest version of this versatile network media player has not only gained sleek-looking casework but now sports more inputs, including wired and wireless Ethernet, USB, aptX® Bluetooth and a combo optical/3.5 socket. The NODE 2 is also easier to use, with playlists being compiled automatically, and is more responsive thanks to an increase in processing power. Support for Spotify, Qobuz and Tidal, among others, plus compatibility with MQA means listeners can enjoy easy access to web-streaming in lossless sound quality. Best of all, the NODE 2 sounds dynamic, three-dimensional and fatigue-free, making for a performance that belies its deceptively modest appearance.”
With the EISA Awards now in their 30th year and a membership including the leading audio journals from all of the major European countries, the results are widely regarded as the highest European honour in the Hi-Fi industry. To win an EISA award, products undergo a robust, rigorous and exhaustive judging process in two stages. Following intensive testing and audition at the facilities of EISA member magazines, each journal submits a shortlist of the best products in each category. The second stage takes place at EISA‘s annual General Meeting, where a democratic voting process establishes a pan-European consensus of excellence and determines the winning products.
Read more from EISA here.
