Bluesound NODE X – to the eXtreme?

Intro

For years Bluesound has been the ‘go to’ solution for enthusiasts looking for a ‘better alternative’ to the well-known Sonos products. We have written quite a bit about both brands on Alpha Audio and time after time we also mention the fact that Bluesound simply sounds better and is also very nice to use. Now, after ten years, the Canadian brand takes a step up with the Bluesound Node X.

Bluesound has been on the market for ten years. We distinctly remember being at the introduction in Rotterdam. Back then the design was quite different: little cubes…. we thought it was funny to be honest. But of course it is a very daring design…. The version after that got a big restyle with a design practically identical to the current one.

Ecosystem

Bluesound’s great strength is its ecosystem as well as its absolute ease of use. Let’s start with the ecosystem.

There are countless Bluesound products. Think of the Node streamer, PowerNode with amplifier, Pulse-series speakers, Vault with CD-rip function, Soundbars and then separate cards that fit into NAD products, for example.

That way, an entire system can be built with Bluesound products. Nice for people who don’t like switching between apps. And for those who need to do some mixing and matching of systems: Bluesound is fully ROON compatible.

Convenience

We’ve put a few screenshots of the app above. More screenshots can be found in other reviews. We now run entirely on ROON and in some situations Audirvana as well. The reason we keep falling back on ROON is its convenience and stability. As a reviewer, it’s an incredibly nice system because practically everything works with it. As a result, we don’t have to switch between apps. Also, the indexing and integration of services is very well done.

But the fact is: the Bluesound app works phenomenally. And the system is 100% stable. We have not experienced a single outage. Not even via wifi which works just fine with the NODE and Node X.

Connections Bluesound Node X

Bluesound has included a lot of connectivity for the Node X. However, it is similar to the NODE N130, so for many this is a familiar back end.

We see: stereo single ended out, Sub out, coaxial out, optical out, an optical / analog input via 3.5mm jack, trigger and an IR connector. Then wired Ethernet, USB and HDMI arc. What you don’t see is wifi connectivity and bluetooth. Bluetooth, by the way, is two-way: you can play to it AND it is possible to connect headphones via bluetooth. Very nicely done and something many enthusiasts will appreciate.

Remote control!

By the way, the Node X also comes with a remote control . Right. one of those things with dedicated buttons for play, pause, stop, skip…. something we used to control everything with and something we all just regularly miss on streamers as well. The Node X just has these. Bonus points!