Bluesound Node 2 Black
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According to our audio streamer expert
With the Bluesound NODE 2, you can listen to high sound quality all around the house. This receiver connects your current speakers to the Bluesound multi-room system. Wirelessly send music from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop via WiFi to the speakers. Since the receiver plays lossless files, your sound system's HiFi sound reproduction comes into its own. These file formats, such as FLAC or WAV, don't have any issues with loss of quality, which means you can hear every detail of your favorite song. Its RCA, optical, coax, and subwoofer cable connectors make this receiver suitable for various types of devices. Connect it to your receiver or directly to the speakers you are using.
Built-in WiFi | ||
|---|---|---|
Bluetooth | ||
Multi-room audio | ||
Streaming services | Spotify | |
Audio streaming quality | HD quality (24-bit) | |
Power supply type | Power grid | |
Plays from network | ||
AirPlay |
5 stars
29
4 stars
8
3 stars
1
2 stars
0
1 star
0
The Node2 is neatly packaged, the appearance of the node2 is more convenient than the Node 1. Connecting is actually self-explanatory, I use WiFi, although a cable is advised with a bit of network load, but so far this has not been necessary. With the app you can also see how strong the WiFi signal is. You can also use Bluetooth 4 / aptx, but WiFi is better because of the longer range. He doesn't know AirPlay, but I don't miss it. I did connect my AppleTV to the Node 2 with an optical cable, just in case. I often use the Spotify Connect that automatically popped up in my Spotify app ('devices available') but Tunein, Tidal, Qobus, Deezer, etc. are also built-in, these services also have a HiRes subscription for e.g. 24 bits/192KHz music. I don't know if you can hear this, it will probably depend a lot on the rest of your setup as well. Because I have an analog NAD amplifier I use the DAC of the Node 2 and thus the analog output. You can also connect a subwoofer and headphones. Tone control (bass/treble) can also be controlled via the app if you wish, among a number of other things. The NAD app (instead of Bluesound) also works and is actually identical except for the use of color in the app (a lot of red instead of bluesound black). The blue light on the front (can be dimmed or switched off) is the same color blue as with NAD, which makes the origin clearer.
There is also an error in the specs of Coolblue: although no remote control is included, you can grab your own IR remote control from another device and configure the node 2 on this via the app using the learning function. Useful. At the top you can operate it limited manually: pause/play, forward and backward, stop and go into power save mode.
In the USB port I plugged a 16Gb USB stick with a part of my iTunes library that consists almost entirely of ALAC files with some AIFF, MP3 and WAV. Album art doesn't always come along, I noticed.
The sound is really fine, better than from the simple CD player I used before. Streaming or music from the USB stick gives a spatial sound. In combination with the speakers (Nubert) I hear things that I hadn't heard before. The placement of the instruments in an orchestra, for example, is now also clearly audible where it used to be a mush sound. I am still looking for a NAS and that will also be connected to the Node 2. I saw that this shouldn't be complicated. But that remains to be seen. The Node 2's app and BluesoundOS are regularly updated. Looking at the advanced diagnostics, the Node 2 seems to run internally on Linux.
Downside: power consumption at rest is quite strong with 6 watts if it is on 24/7. That's why I switch it to the 0.5W power save mode in the evening by holding down the play button on the top for a few seconds. You have to start up by touching a key, you can't do that via the app.
Then the App: the interface is not really useful, although it is self-evident, even if you have several Bluesound devices in the house. These can be grouped or controlled separately. The app appears to be very attached to a playlist, while every now and then I just want to play a piece of music right away, not via the playlist. I then first have to delete or search for it and select another number there. You don't have this problem via Spotify, of course. It shouldn't be such a problem to adjust this. I'm looking forward to the next update ;-)
Godfried
1 February 2016
Automatically translated from Dutch
nice design, good quality, good connectivity options
Marco Braam
25 July 2017
Automatically translated from Dutch
I previously worked with an Apple AirPlay for streaming. I already had a very decent result. But with the Bluesound node 2 I immediately heard a significant improvement in sound: better in definition, stereo image, detail. A heavenly experience when listening to all genres of music! I still can't believe my ears. I can't wait until Qobuz streams in HiRes..... When will spotify start streaming in CD quality?
Thierry Dejonghe
3 January 2017
Automatically translated from Dutch
Product number | 654688 | |
|---|---|---|
Manufacturer code | BLSNODE2BK | |
Brand | Bluesound | |
Warranty | 2 years | |
Processing of your defect | Carry-in warranty | |
Old product returned for free |
Speaker type | Receiver | |
|---|---|---|
Year introduced | 2015 | |
Alarm function | ||
Audio streaming quality | HD quality (24-bit) |
Bluetooth | ||
|---|---|---|
Bluetooth profiles | High-quality audio (aptX), Standard Audio (A2DP) | |
Built-in WiFi | ||
Multi-room audio | ||
AirPlay |
Height | 4,6 cm |
|---|---|
Depth | 14,6 cm |
Width | 22 cm |
Color | Black |
Material | Plastic |
Weight | 1,12 kg |
Power supply type | Power grid |
Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
Multi-room audio | ||
Plays from network | ||
Plays from USB memory | ||
Number of zones (audio) | 64 | |
Multi-room functions | Zones separately, Zones simultaneously | |
DLNA | ||
SonosNet | ||
Google Cast | ||
Spotify Connect | ||
UPnP AV support | ||
AirPlay | ||
Internet radio | ||
Streaming services | Spotify | |
Streaming services support | ||
Plays from Apple devices via USB | ||
Plays from Android devices via USB | ||
Fireconnect | ||
MusicCast |
Number of stereo RCA line inputs | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
RCA connector | ||
3.5mm mini jack connector | ||
USB port | ||
Type of USB port | mini USB-B, standard USB-A | |
Headphone jack | ||
Network connector | ||
Number of USB ports | 2 | |
Wired connector type | Port (in device) | |
Port type | Audio jack, Ethernet, RCA connector, TOSLINK, USB |
Awards NL/BE | What Hi-Fi? | |
|---|---|---|
Best tested |
