Thank you for your comment. All reviews are biased as is your opinion. I stated my bias and (opinion) why I do not like the unit honestly and truthfully. In addition, I want me integrated units (especially the dac portion) to be upgradeable in the future if need be. I hate being “stuck” Thanks !

I just got my minipro a few weeks ago and am truly enjoying it. I keep it on my night stand with Focal Clears, it’s compact, nice looking, nor cords to look at and it streams my music via Roon. Is there a better sounding all in one? Maybe so. It’s a thumbs up for me.

@@robinator3202 glad you like it ! 👍

@@Jayiyagi its cool. Definately not a device for everyone. No such thing exists or this hobby will get boring. Just saying there are people like us who needs integrateds that this device can fit very well and dont mind being stuck with it for a while. Same reason why people buy integrated amps, not the best but mostly good enough! Good debate cheers!

@@Jayiyagi thx Jay, I’ve been a fan of your reviews and channels for a few years. Keep up the good work.

@@_kardus Well, the idea of a galvanically isolated hat attached like allo digione or the Pi2AES (along with moOde or Volumio) is to actually get away from/bypass the pitfalls and challenges of usb noise/jitter issues associated with computer sources. Going with something like I2s or even coax out tends to be better for this, on the average. But a really serious dac with a well designed usb circuit/chips (latest amanero or Xmos) can sound excellent. Still, even a hat attached to an rpi sent to a good dac will usually outshine straight usb, unless extra effort is made to reclock etc.

Thank you for your comment !

Thanks Luis !

Can’t wait to test out the Bartok one day! Heard great things about it

@@Jayiyagi At $17k US for the entry level.🥂

I will soon (hopefully) and I for sure will !

Thanks Dale !

Thanks !

Glad you liked it !

@@Jayiyagi … you got an email regarding a hifi show. Might be in your spam box 😉

Thank you for the comment ! Your comment is enlightening. Although I would say using digital out to a different dac can elevate the experience of the bluenode2i I have no doubt there is better. I am looking to test out the zen stream soon and excited !

@@Jayiyagi Thanks Jay for your reply. I have experimented quite a bit with entry level streamers and it is always a trade off between sound quality and flexibility.I have had a Node 2i, the Microrendu, the Sotm sms200, the Project S2 ultra. The sms200 had the best sound quality by quite a margin but is ethernet only and you had to reboot if you wanted airplay after using DLNA. The Project had the flexibility but it sounded grey and underwhelming. This is why for me the Ifi Zen Stream is a game changer of the entry level streamers because it sounds significantly better than the Sotm and is super flexible to use. Many people have reported stability issues on Headfi with this unit but for me it has been rock solid streaming Tidal through the Mconnect app or streaming music/films through Airplay. I agree with your your comment that upgrading the dac after a Node 2i is a way to improve sound quality. In my experience however, I find the digital source (streamer) nearly as important as the dac in the chain. I am using a Metrum r2r dac and a Project S2 dac at a 1/3 of the price. The Metrum is a much better dac but I might take the Zen with the S2 over the Metrum with the Node. Just my 2c...

Hey, thank you for the comment. I believe I can. However this has never been really relevant to me because I use the zen mini mk3 due to it being roon core as well as cd player (it’s functionality) That the bluesound node 2i does not support but required for my current set up

Personally something like the smsl vmv a1 or ares 2 (better if I can find one used)

Hey, thank you for your comment. Talking about streamers specifically; Streamers usually (most of the time) sound better than computers that are inherently noisy devices. But mainly function and convenience that fits your system is priority (at-least for me) can’t play if you don’t connect right? Haha

Thank you for the comment ! I did use it as a headphone amplifier as mentioned in the video and well… my headphone amp impressions are also in the video. As for the dac/streamer - I compared it to units that cost much lower actually… and not the holo stack

Thank you for the comment ! Absolutely I will :)

Thanks ! Lots of hard work and labour went into it haha

I did ? 😬

Hey, thank you for your comment ! Can you let us know what the other differences are?

@@Jayiyagi From the official site: Clock Source Crystek CCHD-950 (mini-i Pro 3 only) High performance clock (mini-i 3 only)

@@Jayiyagi the Pro version has the crystal oscillator for low jitter

@@CapitanHarlockisback awesome. Thank you for sharing that !

I think you are tied for 2nd ! Haha

Hey, thank you for the comment. I believe majority of that price difference is MQA which I again, do not care for.

The pro version also has a Crystal Oscillator for ultra-low jitter.