The Good: A very high quality component that connects easily and delivers a high resolution streaming solution to your home.
The Bad: None to speak of.
The Bottom Line: If you have an existing system and are looking for a place to start in streaming, this is the place to look. It is an excellent product that will take you forward for many years.
The Bluesound Node is a wireless streaming music player that finally connects all of your digital music to any existing stereo system.
Designed to stream in HD, the Node fully supports all music streaming formats (like MP3 and AAC), and houses a high-performance sigma-delta 24bit/192kHz DAC that even handles high-resolution formats (beyond CD quality) such as FLAC and OGG. There is also a digital optical output that could be used on a DAC or other digital amplifier.
Luckily enough, both this and the truly excellent Bluesound DUO speaker system arrived on my doorstep in time for half term, and here’s how I got on with the Node.
Design
The Node’s actual design is very modern and pleasant to look at; it’s a diamond shape from above and comes in glossy white or black. Build quality appears good, solid and reassuring in the modern age of consumer electronics, and sticky feet on the base help to stop the Node sliding around on shiny surfaces when cables are pulling it in new directions.
Bluesound Node has a stylish and modern look to it
Set-up
In set-up the Node is very simple to get going: download the free Bluesound App (iOS or Android) on your phone and tune in to your WiFi system or plug it in to the network using the standard Ethernet cable.
It is a simple matter to configure your Node to your existing music sources such as a music server or NAS drive, since they appear as your ‘Library’ in the app. I’ve had issues with album artwork but fortunately, my (lossless WAV) files pull through perfectly. Alternatively, the app also allows you to sign into your streaming music service providers, be they Tidal, Spotify, Deezer or others.
Ports at the back of the Bluesound Node
Physically, you will need to plug the Node into an amplifier using ‘Phono’ leads or take the optical digital output into your DAC or other hifi component that can receive and convert optical digital audio output.
Control
To control the Node you’ll use the Bluesound app; open the a on your phone, choose Tidal or Spotify, or other in the Streaming Services section, (TuneIn radio is there by default too) and play what you want.
The App allows you to build playlists, it is a bit of a pain to get up to speed with but it works nicely once you have the hang of it. Just save your playlists as you go along and you can edit them pretty easily.
Quality and Performance of the Node
The Node is a very impressive performer. As a streamer, I have had no issues with connectivity, set-up or all of the crazy frustrating wireless stuff that comes with the territory these days. It is clear that the 24 bit/192kHz DAC in the Node is a great performer and the difference in source quality is shown up by the Node when you switch from Spotify to Tidal, for example. This is all good news provided you have the speakers to deliver the quality you are expecting. (I’m using the Bluesound DUOs.)
The Bluesound Node app can stream from many services, and while I have only used Spotify and Tidal, there are others like Qobuz, Deezer, Rhapsody, WiMP and Rdio.
Bluesound Node: Verdict
I know there are loads of people going on about Sonos, but this is a great way of getting into streaming, especially as it can integrate with a traditional living room system that is already in place (speakers/amp/cd player or turntable). You may choose to use the Node with an existing system; mine is plugged simply into an amplifier, and I already have a networked server with most of my CDs on it.
Overall, at £399, this is an excellent entry into the streaming world, particularly if you have an existing HiFi system.
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