At a look
Skilled’s Score
Professionals
- Excellent audio element
- Straightforward to arrange
- Roon Prepared
- Works with virtually each conceivable audio supply
Cons
- No Chromecast assist
- Restricted capability to customise EQ
- BluOS app doesn’t show decision of streaming tracks
Our Verdict
Bluesound has performed no small position in creating the marketplace for hi-res streaming, and the Node X is a becoming method celebration of the corporate’s tenth anniversary.
Within the decade because the Canadian audio firm Bluesound first launched its Node wi-fi streamer, audiophiles have embraced the thought of high-resolution streaming audio. The brand new Node X, launched in a restricted version to rejoice the system’s tenth anniversary, is Bluesound’s greatest streamer but.
Consider the Node collection as a Swiss Military Knife for every kind of wi-fi playback. It might play your individual music information from a neighborhood server (together with Roon servers), stream music from subscription music companies, tune in to web radio stations, act as a Bluetooth receiver for a house audio system, and combine with powered audio system (together with Bluesound’s personal). It might additionally function with different BluOS gadgets as a multi-room audio system.
Excessive-end audio circuitry makes the Bluesound Node X a superb associate to such hi-res streaming companies as Qobuz and Tidal.
What’s totally different concerning the Node X? Bluesound has given it a brand new silver end, upgraded its DAC and inside headphone amp, and included a 1/4-jack for headphone playback. Many of the new tech will in all probability ultimately present up in later Node fashions, however that placing silver case is prone to be unique to the Node X.
Only a few customers will reap the benefits of each Node X characteristic, however Bluesound has designed a tool that may deal with any wi-fi music choice you’re utilizing now, and it’ll adapt if you wish to change issues up later with new sources.
The Bluesound Node X has each analog (RCA stereo and subwoofer) and digital (Toslink, coax, and HDMI eARC) outputs for connecting to an amp or powered audio system.
James Barber/Foundry
Is the Bluesound Node X a well-built audio system?
The Bluesound Node X is a glossy rectangular field measuring 1.8 x 8.7 x 5.7 inches (HxWxD) and weighing round 3 kilos. It has a recessed black band across the center, making a reverse ice cream sandwich look. There’s a Bluesound brand on the entrance prime half and a 1/4-inch headphone jack on the underside half.
The highest floor of the Node X has a touchscreen with a proximity sensor, so it lights up when your hand approaches it. The amount management is an LED slider and there are LED contact controls for play/pause, subsequent monitor, earlier monitor, and 5 station or playlist preset buttons.
The Node X may very well be a superb desktop audio system when used with powered audio system. That setup would make it simple to make use of the built-in THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier with headphones. I used the Node X with a house audio setup and managed it with both the BluOS app or the included RC1 distant.
The Bluesound Node X has a proximity sensor that lights up its LED management touchpad wwhen you progress your hand near the unit.
James Barber/Foundry
The guts of the Node X is a brand new ESS 9028Q2M Sabre DAC that helps resolutions as much as 24-bit/192kHz, with assist for MQA playback. That’s the largest improve on this unit and it’s the identical DAC used within the lauded Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M. The DAC is paired with a quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A53 processor.
There are a number of methods to enter audio into the Node X, together with HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi, gigabit ethernet, Apple AirPlay 2, Bluetooth (with assist for aptX HD), and USB Kind A. Bluetooth is bi-directional, so you may stream music from an Android system to the unit or ship a sign to a wi-fi headphone and hear with out being tethered to the system.
Utilizing streaming companies with the Node X
The Node X is the proper associate for each Qobuz and Tidal. Listeners can reap the benefits of these service’s better-than-CD high quality streams and management them by way of the superb BluOS app for iOS and Android.
I often hearken to Qobuz and Tidal with headphones and a DAC, since that’s been the easiest way to benefit from the immersive element every service can provide with its high-resolution audio information. Listening to the 2023 remaster of Miles Davis’ 1960 album Workin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet by way of a 24-bit/96kHz stream by way of Qobuz, I used to be blown away by how a lot better it sounded than my CD copy. The silent elements are useless silent and the breaths that each Davis and saxophonist John Coltrane take have a presence I’ve by no means heard earlier than. Would a mint LP copy from six a long time in the past sound higher than this? I suppose it’s attainable, however the Node X affords a listening expertise that turntables or CD gamers in the identical worth vary can’t start to match.
Different music companies that may be managed instantly from the app embody the Neil Younger Archives, Spotify, Nugs.internet, SiriusXM, TuneIn Radio, Deezer, Amazon Music, Napster, and iHeartRadio.
The BlueOS app for the Bluesound Node X helps all kinds of streaming companies.
James Barber/Foundry
Sadly, Apple Music subscribers can’t get in on the hi-res motion with this streamer. The Node X sounds nice taking part in tunes from Apple Music by way of AirPlay 2, however the stream lacks the element you’ll get from a Qobuz or Tidal stream as a result of Apple limits output to CD high quality on third-party gadgets. That is irritating, since Apple Music playback sounds implausible with headphones and a DAC.
Spotify additionally sounds tremendous, however the Spotify Join stream continues to be lossy. If Spotify ever delivers on its promise to ship hi-res audio, the Node X will be capable to deal with any audio decision that the streaming service may conceivably select to make use of.
The primary streaming bins touted their capability to stream radio stations over the web, and the Node X continues that custom. You possibly can create station presets on the highest of the unit and within the BluOS app and simply maintain monitor of your favourite sources. Bandwidth prices broadcasters cash, nonetheless, so it’s best to understand that these radio streams often include a low bit charge.
To be clear, the Node X is an impressive choice for any on-line streaming supply you’d select to make use of, and every one will sound nearly as good because it presumably can. In case your listening is restricted to Spotify and web radio, you simply received’t be benefiting from every part the Node X has to supply.
Utilizing the BluOS app
The BluOS app for iOS and Android is well-designed and straightforward to make use of.
James Barber/Foundry
The BluOS app makes it simple so as to add supported streaming companies to the app and entry your catalog from inside the interface. None of these interfaces fairly match what you’ll see with every service’s freestanding app, however Bluesound has designed the BluOS app to current a constant interface that’s simple to make use of when you stand up to hurry with the way it works.
For something that’s not accessible from inside the app—corresponding to Apple Music, the sport streams supplied by Main League Baseball, or radio stations that don’t stream by way of one of many supported radio apps—customers can make use of AirPlay 2 or Bluetooth to fill in these gaps. Android customers ought to know that BluOS doesn’t assist Chromecast.
Customers on the lookout for elaborate equalization tweaks could also be dissatisfied, as a result of solely treble and bass ranges will be adjusted within the Tone Management setting. There’s additionally an choice to regulate crossover if you happen to’re utilizing an outboard subwoofer.
The most effective options within the BluOS app are the My Playlists and My Favorites choices. Every perform aggregates your picks out of your subscribed companies, and the favorites embody artists, albums, songs, playlists, and stations. Every checklist is damaged down by service, making it simple to maintain monitor of your favorites with out remembering which service you saved them on. That is particularly useful with radio stations, as lots of them are unique to iHeartRadio and don’t seem on TuneIn or vice versa.
The Bluesound Node X has a 1/4-inch headphone output in entrance for personal listening periods.
James Barber/Foundry
The worst characteristic of the app is that it doesn’t show the streaming decision of the unique monitor past “CD” or “HR” for Qobuz. Customers can at all times change over to the Qobuz app for the small print, however that’s a ache as a result of the monitor you’re taking part in received’t be the very first thing you see once you change. Perhaps it’s a restriction from the streaming companies or maybe it’s a limitation in how the app was coded, however an answer to this drawback can be welcome. These of us who pay further for high-resolution streaming companies wish to see that degree of element.
Must you purchase the Bluesound Node X?
The Node X is a dynamite improve to a house audio system for anybody trying to combine trendy streaming music right into a setup that’s been taking part in vinyl, CD, and tapes. When you have an open enter in your preamp or receiver, you’ll have entry to a world of digital music by way of the web and from information saved on your property community.
If you happen to haven’t already invested in a house audio system, you may join the Node X to powered audio system and also you’ll have a digital music streamer setup that may play any file or on-line supply you may select. You would later add a Bluesound Hub ($319) close by and plug in a turntable, CD participant, or another legacy format with an RCA connection to the Hub and luxuriate in the advantages of no matter supply you need.
If you happen to’re already having fun with high-resolution audio from a private assortment of audio information or by way of a streaming service like Qobuz or Tidal, the Node X is a good worth proposition at this worth. There are different wi-fi streaming DACs that characteristic costlier conversion chips and front-panel shows, however these can value two, three, and even 5 instances as a lot because the Node X. Fairly a couple of vinyl purists are beginning to acknowledge that high-resolution digital audio could be a compelling addition to an audio system setup somewhat than a alternative for turntables, cartridges, and their beloved spherical slabs of PVC. The Node X and its companion BluOS app make streaming a compelling proposition for integrating each codecs into your system.
