TechAudioBluesound Node review: a cost-effective music-streaming system with cloutWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? The third-gen Bluesound Node is here to save your dayWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.Reasons to buy+Outstanding audio performance from any source+Versatile specification+Compact and well-madeReasons to avoid-No remote control handset-Control app can get flusteredWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechAudioBluesound Node review: a cost-effective music-streaming system with cloutWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? The third-gen Bluesound Node is here to save your dayWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.Reasons to buy+Outstanding audio performance from any source+Versatile specification+Compact and well-madeReasons to avoid-No remote control handset-Control app can get flusteredWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Want to add streaming smarts to an existing system? The third-gen Bluesound Node is here to save your day
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.Reasons to buy+Outstanding audio performance from any source+Versatile specification+Compact and well-madeReasons to avoid-No remote control handset-Control app can get flustered
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.Reasons to buy+Outstanding audio performance from any source+Versatile specification+Compact and well-madeReasons to avoid-No remote control handset-Control app can get flustered
T3 VerdictWant to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.
T3 Verdict
Want to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.
Reasons to buy+Outstanding audio performance from any source+Versatile specification+Compact and well-madeReasons to avoid-No remote control handset-Control app can get flustered
Reasons to buy+Outstanding audio performance from any source+Versatile specification+Compact and well-made
Outstanding audio performance from any source
Versatile specification
Compact and well-made
Reasons to avoid-No remote control handset-Control app can get flustered
No remote control handset
Control app can get flustered
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Bluesound got in on the ground floor of high-resolution audio streaming, at least where the mass market is concerned: its original Node was launched back in 2014, and very effective it was too. So much so that inspired more than one or two imitators amongthe best streaming DACs available.
Kicking back against said competition, Bluesound’s streamer is now in its third-generation form. But does this latest Node have what it takes to maintain Bluesound’s position and pre-eminence?
Bluesound Node: Price & Availability
Today’s best Bluesound Node (Gen 3) deals$499View$558ViewNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Bluesound Node (Gen 3) deals$499View$558ViewNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Bluesound Node (Gen 3) deals
$499View$558ViewNo price informationCheck Amazon
$499View
$499View
$499View
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$499
$558View
$558View
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No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
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We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
The Bluesound Node is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it sells for a very aggressive £449. In the United States it goes for $499. In Australia you should expect to pay AU$999.
That’s an eye-catching price, for sure. But it’s not as if Bluesound has the field clear at this sort of money. In fact, well-regarded products fromCambridge Audio (MXN10)andWiiM (Pro Plus)are ready to undercut the Node either a little or a lot. Being an originator will only carry you so far, after all…
Bluesound Node review: What’s new?
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
As far as connectivity and specification in general is concerned, the word I’m inclined to use here is ‘ample’. There are numerous options for getting audio content into the Node, and once it’s there it’s dealt with in very thorough fashion.
So the chassis features an Ethernet input, a USB-A slot, anHDMI eARC socketand a hybrid 3.5mm socket that can function either as an analogue or a digital optical input. Outputs extend to stereo RCAs (fixed or variable), digital optical and digital coaxial (for use with an offboard DAC), a 3.5mm headphone output and a pre-out for a subwoofer.
Bluesound has also upgraded the processors over the second-generation Node, meaning this model is more powerful, more responsive and more stable. That’s the theory, anyway.
Bluesound Node review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
It doesn’t matter if you decide to listen to music via the Node with it hard-wired into your existing audio system, or streaming wirelessly to an appropriate speaker somewhere in your home, or even to a pair ofthe best wireless headphones. In every circumstance, from every input and with every style of music, the authority the Node exerts over your recordings is, to all intents and purposes, the same. It’s an impressively and enjoyable accomplished listen, where every aspect of music reproduction is concerned.
It’s an impressively agnostic device, too. In every circumstance, the Node makes the most of your music: whether it’s an MQA file of some thumping dance music via Tidal, a compressed Spotify file of some vocal-centric stuff, or a Qobuz-derived hi-res file of some colourful-and-complicated jazz, it’s all meat and drink to the Bluesound.
Its powers of resolution are considerable, its ability to organise a recording is obvious (so timing sounds natural and organic), and its powers of detail retrieval are a match for any price-comparable rival. And its ability to extract the smallest subtlety of a recording, the most minor harmonic variation, whether in a vocal inflection or the intensity of a piano-key strike, is enough to turn a quick listen into an all-night session.
No matter if it’s some lo-fi indie stylings or high-gloss radio-friendly stuff, the Node makes the best of it. It’s poised and balanced where tonality is concerned, it has the sort of dynamic headroom that can put a huge distance between ‘whispered heartbreak’ and ‘almighty charge into the final chorus’, and it can do so in an instant.
Its low-frequency reproduction is rich and well-controlled, which means it expresses rhythms convincingly. Its top end shines benignly, balancing attack with substance in a completely convincing manner. And in between, it communicates with real eloquence, giving vocalists every opportunity to express their character and their attitude.
All of this happens on a big, well-defined and spacious soundstage, too. The Node has no problem establishing a wide, deep stage, and organises each individual element of a recording in a wholly believable and easy-to-follow manner.
Bluesound Node review: Design & Usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
There’s ‘understated’, and then there’s the Bluesound Node. It’s a compact (46 x 220 x 126mm) and almost featureless box (save for the ‘Bluesound’ logo on the front panel). It’s available in black or white, and the standard of build and finish is beyond reproach.
At least, it’s featureless until you get quite close to it. Proximity sensors illuminate a few controls on its top panel - and these allow you to control volume with a sliding motion, skip forwards or backwards through your content, and access one of the five presets you may have assigned.
Both the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant apps now feature BluVoice skills - so voice control is available for those of us who enjoy shouting in order to get their bidding done.
Bluesound Node review: Verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Want to add streaming smarts to an existing system? Fancy a bit of multi-room convenience? Want excellent sound quality from a product that’s small enough to tuck away and isn’t inclined to draw attention to itself?
Well, you’re in luck. Three generations in, the Bluesound Node is one of the most appealing and cost-effective ways to turn your audio system into a music-streaming system.
Also consider
The Cambridge Audio MXN10 follows the established Node template of minimalism (both in terms of dimensions and aesthetic), features a control app that’s a little less truculent than BluOS, and sounds slightly different, rather than especially better or worse. It’s only available in Cambridge’s signature silver, mind you.
Today’s best Cambridge Audio MXN10 and Bluesound Node (Gen 3) dealsCambridge Audio MXN10$499$399ViewSee all pricesBluesound Node (Gen 3)$499ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Cambridge Audio MXN10 and Bluesound Node (Gen 3) dealsCambridge Audio MXN10$499$399ViewSee all pricesBluesound Node (Gen 3)$499ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Cambridge Audio MXN10 and Bluesound Node (Gen 3) dealsCambridge Audio MXN10$499$399ViewSee all pricesBluesound Node (Gen 3)$499ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Cambridge Audio MXN10 and Bluesound Node (Gen 3) deals
Cambridge Audio MXN10$499$399ViewSee all pricesBluesound Node (Gen 3)$499ViewSee all prices
Cambridge Audio MXN10$499$399ViewSee all prices
Cambridge Audio MXN10$499$399ViewSee all prices
Cambridge Audio MXN10
Cambridge Audio MXN10
$499$399View
$499$399
$399
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Bluesound Node (Gen 3)$499ViewSee all prices
Bluesound Node (Gen 3)$499ViewSee all prices
Bluesound Node (Gen 3)
Bluesound Node (Gen 3)
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We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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