It’s a common theme in art and literature, from classical myths to modern novellas – that time waits for no man. No matter how great you might be and how high you may rise, there will always be something, or someone, to pull you back down to Earth just as you grow to your tallest, proudest peak. “There’s always a bigger fish,” to quote Liam Neeson in the decidedly un-literary Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.
The world of hi-fi is no different. So often we’ve seen products dominate a corner of the market, only to be sideswiped by younger, better rivals keen for their turn at the metaphorical watering hole. Bluesound’s Node was almost synonymous with well-priced music streamers, with its third-generation iteration from 2021 earning multiple What Hi-Fi? Awards for its efforts. It seemed as though the good times would last forever, until the similarly-priced Cambridge Audio MXN10 (tested at £449 / $499 / AU$899) strode into the clearing and declared itself as a major new player in the budget network player arena.
