Bluesound Pulse 2i Wireless Multi-Room Smart Speaker with Bluetooth - Black - Compatible with Alexa and Siri

This review will largely be about the Bluesound brand, although this speaker is really really fun - especially when paired with a 2nd one to have it in stereo. The build quality and features of the speakers are excellent and I love that they keep improving the firmware/software. When I was looking into purchasing a new "ecosystem" of sound, I looked into the different players. There aren't a ton and Sonos was the leader. I dug into both Sonos and Bluesound becuase I knew I'd be building a new house and would be purchasing a lot of components - so before the big financial investment, I wanted to make sure I was heading in the right direction. Because it all came down to quality of sound for me, I leaned heavily towards Bluesound. I started my journey by purchasing the Bluesound Powernode about 2 years ago, and replacing my amplifier in my office with it. I had 2 simple bookshelf speakers and a powered sub. WOW, once i set it up I was floored at how much better sounding the system was. I was very much hooked on the experience and did really like how Bluesound and the BluOS worked. I then bought 2 of these speakers for my house and have been testing them out in relation to my home and home network. Now for the support team. With one of the speakers there was an issue where it would cut out/power off and because it was so new I didn't want to try and deal with it. I worked through their support team and the replaced it for me. That was a year ago and I just worked with their support team for the PowerNode that was out of warranty, but they also replaced that for me and their support team is responsive and very helpful. It feels like they've been working on the support side, which for me is key since i'll be purchasing a LOT more components at the end of this year when our house is finished - and I want to make sure I'm completely covered. TLDR; Loud, clear audio and great support means i've found a long term partner for my expansion needs. Read more

I like this - it is reliable (I've owned it for over 6 months) and has a nice soundstage that makes it sound a good bit bigger than it is. I use it at low volume exclusively and do not need more than mono - However, it definitely does not sound like a point source (and this is adjustable). Overall, very high quality with a reliable wi-fi connection to my home network. I have not tried bluetooth. The app is easy to use to control it - the buttons on the top less so. Read more

The speaker advertises as voice control but that is NOT exactly true. You have to talk to your cellular to make it work. The Speaker does NOT have a microphone so you can NOT talk directly to the speaker. I spent 4 hours on their web site and then finally talked to Chris, the BlueSound technician, technical specialist and he confirmed this point to me on the phone. Do NOT buy this if you want to talk directly to the speaker. Read more

This is a well-made, well-designed wireless speaker, and for under $400, it could be recommended. But, at $800 misses the mark. What's the mark? Sound quality. There's a distracting digital quality to things when the volume is turned up. Everything sounds a bit harsh, lacking timbre, realism and smoothness. The soundstage is very impressive, but after listening for more than a few songs, I couldn't shake that "something's not quite right" feeling. Yes, the speaker was well burned in, and I have more than 40 years of audiophile experience, so I know what's what, and what a speaker is worth. Dig a bit deeper in your pocket and get the Bowers & Wilkins Foundation Wedge or the Naim Nu-so. They're also overpriced, but much more satisfying. Read more

I read a professional review that doubted there was any value in the built in Roon compatibility. That compatibility was one of the reasons I picked the Pulse 2i over it's competition. I also have a Tidal subscription and appreciate it's built in MQA decoding. Listening to some well mixed music can sound like there's another speaker in the room (full stereo), using the 'wide' feature. I have several mid-Fi audio components, and I find the audio quality of the Pulse 2i completely adequate for my bedroom sound system. I recommend this Smart Speaker if it fits your integration needs. Shipping box is useful if you want to take it with you on a trip Setup is trivial, although firmware update took some time Paired with a Li-ion AC power block it would make a good portable for camping, etc. Read more