The full meal deal! All these devices come with chips because if they came fried they wouldn’t work. This month I am looking at the pick of the bunch for fast, convenient access to millions of tracks. Just one tap and swipe away from your music heaven.

image: featuring the Bluesound Node, Wiim Ultra and Bluesound Node Icon

When streaming became a thing, people said, “Ah, but CDs are better.” When CDs came out, “Ah, but vinyl is the best.” I have always wondered — what happened when vinyl came out? Did people say, “Ah, but gramophones with shellac and wax cylinders are the ultimate”? Love it or hate it, streaming is here to stay. How will they stack up against each other? (Not in the burger sense.)

First Bite: WiiM Ultra

The WiiM Ultra has an HDMI ARC input, which I used to input my TV. I decided to try the Ultra's built-in DAC for my Marantz, and as the Ultra doesn't have a coaxial input, I used the optical input for this.

The WiiM app is very user-friendly, although the phone app works much better than the laptop app, which is more awkward to navigate and appears to be missing some features that are on the phone app.

The WiiM has a screen and, as I'm used to checking track number and information when listening to CDs, this is definitely a bonus. It's also useful for checking which input is being used and can be customised to name the current source playing.

image: Wiim Ultra rear view with connections — WiiM ultra feature set: inputs = line In, phono in, optical in, hdmi arc; outputs rca, optical,coax,usb, headphones, two way bluetooth, roon ready, linkplay, spotify/tidal/qobuz connect

I began by streaming the overture from Bear McCreary's score for The Cloverfield Paradox and was instantly impressed with the sound. The brass and percussion hits that open the piece came across with the power they should. Bass was tight and rich, the string ostinato that follows flowed smoothly but still had punch, and the electronic embellishments sparkled. The stereo placement was excellent and detailed, showing off the closely miked recording to great effect.

Next, I moved on to Show Me How to Live from Audioslave's eponymous first album. Tom Morello's guitar entrance had the wow factor it should, with Chris Cornell's vocals standing out without getting lost or being too isolated. The distortion used over his vocals in the chorus is always a bit of a challenge: if a system is too bright it can sound grating; if it's too warm it can lose impact. The Ultra, like Cornell, hit just the right notes.

Both the Samsung and the Marantz benefited from the WiiM's DAC, although the CD player's improvement was not a game changer.

The Ultra has a reputation for being on the brighter-sounding side but, as my system is on the warm side, I didn't hear this at all and they complemented each other nicely.

I've always been sceptical about EQing. I prefer to listen to the sound of the equipment as the maker intended. The Ultra comes with RoomFit, which tweaks the EQ to, um, fit the room. I used the microphone on an iPhone 17 to set up and was pleasantly surprised. It definitely improved the sound, adding slightly more focus and finesse.

Very impressive, especially at its price range.

Bluesound Monday

Next up was the Bluesound Node, slightly more expensive than the WiiM but still in the same ballpark.

Bluesound Node Performance Music Streamer

The Node has similar inputs to the WiiM, so the setup was the same. One instantly noticeable omission, though, was the lack of a screen. The app is just as easy to navigate and the laptop app is much closer to the phone app than the WiiM equivalent. One irritating quirk is that if you choose a track from partway through an album, it plays the track on repeat rather than moving on to the next track. The only way around this is to play the album from the beginning and then skip through each preceding track to get to the desired one. A bit of an inconvenience if you want to start at track twenty.

bluesound node 4 feature set: inputs = analog In, optical in, hdmi arc, usb in; outputs = rca, sub out optical,coax,usb, headphones, two way bluetooth, roon ready, spotify/tidal/qobuz connect

Compared to the WiiM, the Node has a much warmer sound, which didn't sit well with my system. The Cloverfield Paradox overture lacked the attack and transparency heard from the WiiM, with an overall muddiness marring the listening experience. Cornell's vocals on Show Me How to Live suffered especially from this, losing all the sting of transients that the WiiM demonstrated.

Supersized Sound

So, given the change in sound, I decided to up the game and introduce Bluesound’s higher-end Reference Music Streamer, the Node Icon. This comes in at over double the price of the WiiM Ultra, but if you ask me, it's money well spent.

Bluesound Node Icon Reference Music Streamer

The Icon has a screen so, aesthetically, I preferred it straight away to the standard Node.

Sound-wise, everything improved, with the Icon taking the whole system to a higher level of audio. Bass was more prominent but kept its definition, and the detail was much cleaner. A pleasure to listen to and definitely the best of the three streamers.

bluesound node icon feature set: inputs = analog In, optical in, hdmi arc, usb C, USB A; outputs = rca & XLR, sub out optical,coax,usb, headphones, two way bluetooth, roon ready, spotify/tidal/qobuz connect

Bill Please: The Verdict

The lesson learnt from this experiment, apart from the obvious — the higher the budget, the greater the potential sound quality — is that system matching matters just as much as the individual components. The WiiM Ultra impressed with its clarity, detail, and value for money, but in an already bright system it could tip things a little too far. The Bluesound Node, on the other hand, brought a warmer, fuller balance that may suit brighter setups better, even if it didn’t gel in mine. Step up to the Node Icon and everything moves up a level again, delivering a more refined, powerful and complete presentation — but, as always, at a price.

The real takeaway is that great hi-fi isn’t built from a checklist of five-star products. It’s about synergy. Components that shine on their own don’t always sing together, and sometimes the “lesser” option is actually the better choice in the right system.

Here at Audio T, our staff have experience with a wide range of equipment and can help find the best combination to suit both your system and your budget. And, as always, listening before buying is the best advice that can be given.

Paul, Justin & Max - Audio T Bristol

If you have any questions about the Wiim Ultra, Bluesound Node or Bluesound Icon featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

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