The brand first landed in Australia in 2014 with a small but potent product range, and from the get-go, it hit it out of the park. The brand's Applause Award-winning NODE (and subsequent model updates) have become a gateway to digital audio and streaming for most audio enthusiasts. I still have three of them on active duty around the home and office.

To mark the 10th anniversary, Canada's Bluesound has announced a limited-run anniversary edition, NODE X, with a unique silver finish, which it says “takes the brand's iconic NODE streamer and yet again redefines the category”. 

For the NODE X, Bluesound employs the venerable ESS 9028Q2M Sabre DAC, which offers excellent musicality, near-zero levels of clock jitter, ultra-low noise, and a wide dynamic range. There's also what the company says is a “high-end headphone amplifier”, which is driven by “cutting-edge THX AAA (Achromatic Audio Amplifier) technology with patented feed-forward error correction resulting in infinitesimally low levels of noise, distortion, and power consumption”. Along with the ¼” headphone jack, the NODE X delivers a no-compromise headphone listening experience. 

The NODE X features enhanced dual-band WiFi to deliver the best-in-class wireless stream quality. It also offers more than 20 natively integrated music services plus thousands of internet radio stations which are accessible directly on the NODE X. You can also play from a personal digital music library held on a computer or external drive through the intuitive BluOS app for iOS, Android, or Mac or PC computers. 

The award-winning BluOS platform is the only platform that can support up to 64 players, all streaming up to 24-bit/192kHz hi-res audio and with support for lossless file formats and MQA playback. The NODE X is equipped with all the inputs and outputs, including HDMI eARC, WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, Apple AirPlay 2, aptX HD Bluetooth, or USB Type A. 

Where Bluesound really shines, though, is with its seamless multi-room ability. So it's no surprise you can group the NODE X with multiple Bluesound speakers (or even BluOS-compatible products from other brands) around the home to create an intuitive multi-room music system. Control the NODE X directly from a smart device or computer; touch panel controls with presets, voice assistants like Apple's Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, or by using the included RC1 Remote Control, which offers one-touch access to any Bluesound player within its proximity. 

Bluesound and BluOS-compatible products have become the popular choice with integrators too. The NODE X can integrate into a smart home with full-feature drivers for Crestron, Control4, URC, RTI, ELAN, and other popular home control systems. 

Matt Simmonds, Product Manager of Bluesound, told StereoNET:

When we thought about how to celebrate a decade of audio excellence and leadership in wireless hi-res streaming, we knew we had to start with the NODE. The NODE X re-imagines some of the best parts of the critically acclaimed, iconic NODE's product design - our most popular model - and takes' just add streaming' to new performance levels for the next generation of audiophiles. I'm particularly excited to see how our customers use the NODE X with their favorite pair of performance headphones.

We're thankful to Bluesound for merging high-resolution audio with the convenience of streaming and wireless multi-room audio. While the hi-fi industry was watching from the sidelines, Bluesound was already looking into the future and imagining the ideal products.

John Banks, Chief Strategy Officer for Lenbrook International, Bluesound's parent company, confirms this vision ... “We knew we had to adapt to the new ways that people were accessing music if we were going to give the hi-fi industry new life.”

The anniversary edition Bluesound NODE X is priced at £699/ €799.

For more information visit Bluesound