About the Bluesound Node 2
Wireless music for the audio enthusiast
Wireless music for the audio enthusiast
If you're serious about your music and its sound quality, good news. With the Bluesound system you can play your high-resolution music files and enjoy the convenience of wireless multi-room audio throughout your home. Bluesound was designed by the makers of NAD electronics and PSB speakers, both experts when it comes to delivering high-performance audio.
Get more from your high-performance audio system
The Node 2 turns your audiophile-grade audio system into a network-capable Bluesound player. Connect the Node 2's analog or digital outputs to your existing receiver or amplifier to make it part of your multi-room Bluesound wireless system. Stream music stored on your home network, Internet radio stations, or online music services, and play it all through your home audio system.
A universe of music options
Bluesound is compatible with virtually all digital music formats — including high-resolution files up to 24-bit/192kHz. Access the music stored on your computer or a networked hard drive. Stream from Internet radio stations and online services like Spotify®, Rhapsody, and TIDAL. You can also enjoy downloads from high-res music sites such as HDtracks. The player is compatible with MQA, an up-and-coming high-resolution audio format. The Node 2 also features a USB input for playing files "locally" from a thumb drive or hard drive — ideal when friends come over with their own music.
High-quality Bluetooth
The Node 2 features aptX® audio coding, an advanced form of Bluetooth that allows higher-fidelity sound with compatible Bluetooth devices. The system is backwards-compatible with earlier forms of Bluetooth, too. Bluetooth is a convenient way to play the sound from any app you might be using on your mobile device, including Netflix® and YouTube™. You can even share that Bluetooth source with other Bluesound music players around your house that are connected to the same network.
Control the system through Bluesound's free app for your smartphone or tablet.
Create a high-resolution multi-room music system
Combine multiple Bluesound players to enjoy high-end sound throughout your home.
- Pulse Flex: This ultra-compact can fit just about any place.
- Pulse Mini: This compact, all-in-one speaker system is ideal for a bookshelf, desk, or nightstand.
- Powernode 2: This amplified player connects to a pair of speakers. It may be small, but it's powerful enough to drive a pair of floor-standing speakers.
- Pulse 2: This all-in-one player is perfect for almost any room. It has built-in PSB speakers for great sound in a compact package.
- Pulse Soundbar: Delivers powerful sound for movies and TV shows while giving you full access to music through your Bluesound network.
- Vault 2: If you've amassed a large collection of CDs, then the Vault was designed for you. It's a storage drive designed with the audio enthusiast in mind. This drive defaults to bit-perfect recording of your CDs, letting you experience every detail without switching discs every time you want to hear a new track or album.
Control in the palm of your hand
The Bluesound system is easily controlled from your smartphone or tablet. Just download the free app from the Apple® App Store, or Google Play. The app lets you select songs and adjust volume. Choose to play music in one room, all rooms, or different tracks in different spaces around your home.
Product highlights:
- communicates with other Bluesound players via your home network (wired or wireless)
- control the system with a free app for your smartphone, tablet, or computer (Android, iOS®, Kindle Fire, Windows®, and Mac®)
- plays MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, WMA-L, FLAC, MQA, ALAC, WAV, and AIFF files
- supported sample rates: 32kHz to 192kHz
- supported bit depths 16-24
- high-fidelity Bluetooth aptX® audio coding for greater sonic detail with compatible devices
- plays Internet radio stations from TuneIn Radio and iHeart Radio
- Spotify Connect lets you play Spotify's streaming music library through your Bluesound system via your smartphone or tablet (requires Spotify app and a premium subscription; firmware and app version 1.10.0 or higher)
- includes support for Spotify, Deezer, TIDAL, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Napster and Calm Radio
- play music in multiple rooms when you add other Bluesound players
- top-mounted controls for volume and muting
- USB port for connecting a thumb drive with music files
- combination mini-optical/stereo minijack audio input
- audio output:
- RCA stereo audio (stereo RCA-to-RCA cable included)
- coaxial RCA
- optical digital audio (Toslink optical digital-to-stereo mini jack adapter included)
- headphone stereo minijack
- subwoofer RCA mono
- built-in Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only)
- Ethernet port for a wired connection to a home network (Etherenet cable included)
- compatible with Windows® (XP or higher operating system)
- compatible with Mac®
- operates on AC power (detachable cord included)
- 8-5/8"W x 1-13/16"H x 7-3/4"D
- weight: 2.45 lbs.
- warranty: 1 year
- requires smartphone or tablet with free Bluesound app for control of system playback
- requires high-speed Internet connection
- MFR # Node 2 Black
What's in the box:
Bluesound Node 2 owner's manual
- Network music player
- 6' AC power cord (120V)
- 6' AC power cord (240V)
- 6.5' Ethernet cable
- 6.5' Stereo RCA cable
- Optical-to-3.5mm adapter
- Quick Setup Guide
- Warranty Sheet
- "Important" booklet
- "Spotify Premium" note
Featured video:
Customer reviews for Bluesound Node 2
Loading...
Loading reviews...
Average review:
4.5 out of 5 starsThanks for submitting your review
Customer photos
This review was collected as part of a promotion
Pros:
Cons:
More details on the Bluesound Node 2
Features & specs
Connections | ||
---|---|---|
Ethernet Port | Yes | |
USB-A Port | No | |
USB-B Port | No | |
3.5mm Input | 1 | |
RCA Input | ||
XLR Input | No | |
Phono Input | No | |
Digital Input | Optical | |
HDMI Input | No | |
Headphone Jack | No | |
Subwoofer Output | Mono-RCA | |
Wireless Features | ||
Bluetooth | Built-in | |
Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n | |
Wi-Fi Bands | 2.4 GHz | |
Audio Specs | ||
Max. Digital Audio Bit Depth | up to 24-bit | |
Max. Digital Audio Sample Rate | up to 192 kHz | |
High-res Audio Playback | ||
From Network | Yes | |
From USB Thumb Drive (USB-A) | No | |
From Computer (USB-B) | No | |
Ecosystems | ||
Apple AirPlay | No | |
Apple AirPlay 2 | No | |
DTS Play-Fi | No | |
Chromecast built-in | No | |
Roon | No | |
Sonos | No | |
HEOS | No | |
MusicCast | No | |
SoundTouch | No | |
Bose Home Speaker | No | |
WiSA | No | |
BluOS | No | |
Klipsch Stream | No | |
KEF Stream | No | |
Music Services | ||
Amazon Music | No | |
Apple Music | No | |
iHeart Radio | No | |
Pandora | No | |
Qobuz | No | |
SiriusXM | No | |
Spotify | No | |
Tidal | No | |
TuneIn | TuneIn,iHeart | |
YouTube Music | No | |
Control | ||
Handheld Remote | No | |
Control by app | Apple iOS, Android | |
Amazon Alexa | No | |
Google Assistant | No | |
Other Specs | ||
Width (Inches) | 8.625 | |
Height (Inches) | 1.8125 | |
Depth (Inches) | 7.75 | |
Parts Warranty | 1 Year | |
Labor Warranty | 1 Year |
Product Research
Features
Bluesound Wireless High-Resolution Audio Eco-System: The Node 2 zone player is part of Bluesound's wireless high-resolution audio eco-system. The Bluesound wireless high-resolution audio eco-system consists of music players, amplifiers, hard-drives, and wireless speakers to playback your high-res and low-res music files, along with your favorite online music services throughout your home using your home's WiFi network. With an advanced WiFi antenna design and blazing ARM Cortex9 Processors, Bluesound ensures a solid connection in every corner of your home. Play your music in perfect sync or play different music simultaneously to any Bluesound device in any room.
Note: Up to 16 Bluesound devices can be connected in a strictly wireless environment. If you want to connect more than 16 Bluesound devices, you will need to connect the Bluesound devices to your network using a wired connection. Bluesound can then control up to 64 devices in a strictly wired environment.
Network Music Player: The Bluesound Node 2 network music player lets you stream digital music files on your network connected Windows or Mac computer, plus stream select online music services and internet radio to your existing home audio system. The Bluesound Node offers a wired or wireless network connection, plus a USB (type-A) input. The Node connects to your home stereo system via analog RCA or digital optical/coax. A free remote app for your Apple iOS or Android device lets you control the Node 2 and your streamed digital music from your mobile device.
32-Bit/192kHz DAC: The Bluesound Node 2 zone player employs a 32-bit/192kHz DAC (digital-to-analog converter) to ensure that your lossless high-res music playback is flawless, with precision and clarity - at any volume.
Wired or Wireless Network Connection: The Bluesound Node 2 can be connected to your home network and Internet provider via a hardwired Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) jack connector or wireless WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) connection. Either network/internet connection allows you to stream music from your Windows or Mac computer and NAS drive (such as the Bluesound Vault, sold separately); as well as stream select online music services.
Bluesound Controller App: The free Bluesound Controller App turns your Apple iOS (7.0+) iPod/iPhone/iPad, Android (OS 4.0+) smartphone/tablet, Windows (Vista higher) PC or Mac (OS X 10.7+) computer into a full-featured remote control for the Bluesound wireless music system. The Bluesound Controller App on your compatible device uses your home's WiFi network to connect with Bluesound devices, so you can play all the music you love anywhere in your home for a wireless multiroom music experience. Get on-demand access to your music libraries on your home network, stream live Internet radio from almost any place in the world, or listen to one of the many music services available on Bluesound, all from the palm of your hand with the easy-to-use Bluesound Controller App.
Supported Music Formats: The Bluesound wireless audio system supports both low-res and high-res audio files; including MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC, ALAC, WMA Lossless, MQA, WAV, and AIFF. Bluesound has been designed to work with today's larger music collections, and has indexed libraries up to 100,000 songs in demonstrated practice (this will depend on the music's metadata & artwork). Bluesound also offers gapless playback by default for all supported file music types.
Compression | File Type | Sampling Frequency | Bit Rate or Bit Depth | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Compressed | Lossy | MP3 | 16-48kHz | 192-320 kbps |
WMA | ||||
AAC | ||||
OGG | ||||
Lossless | WMA-Lossless | up to 96 kHz | up to 24-bit | |
FLAC | 192 kHz | up to 24-bit | ||
ALAC | ||||
MQA | ||||
Uncompressed | AIFF | up 192 kHz | up to 24-bit | |
WAV |
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated): Bluesound is the first wireless multiroom audio system to support MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). MQA is a revolutionary end-to-end technology that captures and delivers master quality audio in a file that's small enough to stream or download. Bluesound worked closely with MQA to implement technology inside each Bluesound component to ensure the listener will hear MQA encoded music and streams exactly like the source and the way the artist intended you to hear it when it was approved in the studio.
Online Music Services: With a network and internet connection, the Node 2 lets you access select online music services & internet radio. The Bluesound Controller app on your Apple iOS or Android device will serve as the controller for these apps and provide song/artist information with Album Art.
- Amazon Prime: With a Prime Music subscription, you can access over 2 million songs ad-free and on-demand, as well as curated playlists and personalized stations. Upgrade to an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription to access tens of millions of songs.
- Spotify Connect: If you subscribe to Spotify Premium and have the Spotify App on your Apple iOS or Android smartphone, you can stream Spotify to the Bluesound system. Spotify is a digital music service that gives you on-demand access to one of the largest music libraries in the world (over 15 million tracks and counting). Spotify makes it easier than ever to discover, manage, and share music with your friends. You can browse music by artist, album, track, or most popular; and create your own music library with customized playlists.
- TIDAL: TIDAL is a global streaming service that offers over 30 million songs in high-fidelity CD sound quality. TIDAL has two pricing tiers; either $9.99 or $19.99 a month. Both pricing levels allow you to access TIDAL's entire music library. The $19.99 tier has the added benefit of high-fidelity sound at CD-level quality
- TuneIn: The Bluesound system includes access to more than 70,000 free internet radio streams from all corners of the globe via the TuneIn radio service. Just select the TuneIn logo from the main Music menu and browse among the 70,000 stations neatly organized into popular categories and select a station that appeals to your mood.
- iHeart Radio: iHeartRadio is a free, all-in-one digital radio and music streaming service that lets you listen to thousands of live stations from across the country and allows you to create personalized custom stations featuring songs from the artist you select and similar music.
- Napster: Napster is a streaming music subscription service (starting a $10 per month) that allows you to play the full-length songs you choose on demand from a collection of over 10 million songs, without ads and without having to purchase or download the music.
- Slacker: Get the sound quality that you deserve with the new Slacker Radio® music library available in high-quality AAC audio on Bluesound. Listen to music streams at a bitrate of 320kbps and enjoy all your favorite Slacker stations in pristine MP3-quality.
Music Library From Your Mobile Device: From the Bluesound Controller App, you can stream music directly over WiFi from your Apple iOS or Android device to the Bluesound Node 2 and the rest of your Bluesound components around your home. The app gives you complete control of your compatible mobile device's music library with song/artist information and album art.
Computer Audio: The Bluesound wireless music system will pull music from an existing digital music library across the network on your Windows PC or Mac computer using Windows or SMB File Sharing (SAMBA) and the Bluesound Controller App for Windows & Mac.
- Windows: Music files stored on a Windows desktop or laptop can be accessed by Bluesound using Windows File Sharing. You will need to download the Bluesound Share Utility for Windows - Bluesound Share Utility Windows v1.6.zip. This utility will work on Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10.
- Mac: Music files stored on an Apple iMac or MacBook can be accessed by Bluesound using SMB File Sharing. You will need to download the Bluesound Share Utility for OS X - Bluesound Share Utility OSX v1.2.zip.This utility will work on any version of Apple OS X 10.8.x and higher.
Bluetooth w/ aptX: The Bluesound Node 2 features built-in Bluetooth 4.0 with support for wireless music streaming from your Bluetooth-enabled Apple iPod/iPhone/iPad, Android smartphone/tablet, Windows PC/Phone, Mac computer/laptop, and more. You'll be able to stream stored music and music apps on your Bluetooth-enabled device to the Node 2. In addition, the Node 2 offers aptX for CD-quality sound from Android (OS 4.0+) devices. You can even distribute Bluetooth audio to the rest of your Bluesound wireless audio system throughout your home or office over WiFi.
Inputs: The Bluesound Node 2 is fitted with a USB (type-A) port for playback of music files stored on a mass storage class (MSC) device, as well as a 3.5mm Aux input that serves as an analog or digital input.
- USB Port: The Bluesound Node 2 features a USB (type-A) port to directly connect your USB mass storage class (MSC) device; such as a thumbdrive or external hard-drive. The unit's USB port supports music playback from these compatible USB devices formatted in FAT 32 or NTFS. Not only can USB audio be played back on the Node 2, but can also be wirelessly distributed to the rest of your Bluesound components throughout your home for multiroom playback. USB mass storage devices that require more than 0.5A of power will require a separate power supply. The USB port is not compatible with the direct connection of an Apple iPod/iPhone/iPad or Android devices.
- Optical/Analog Input: The Node 2 is fitted with a 3.5mm Aux input which can be used as an analog or digital connection. As an analog input, simply connect a stereo minijack audio cable from your analog source to the Node 2's Aux input. As a digital input, use the included 3.5mm-to-Optical adapter along with an optical digital cable (sold separately) to connect your digital source to the Node 2's Aux input. As an analog or digital input, the unit's Aux input supports 2ch PCM audio (not Dolby Digital or DTS). Audio from the Optical/Analog Aux input can be played back at the Node 2 and wirelessly distributed to other Bluesound components in your home for multiroom playback.
Outputs: The Bluesound Node 2 provides analog & digital outputs to connect to your existing home entertainment system, plus a sub out for adding a powered sub, a headphone jack for private listening, and a trigger output for remote activation of another component.
- Analog & Digital Outputs: The Node 2 contains both analog and digital outputs. There is an analog RCA stereo output, plus one optical (toslink) digital output and one coax (RCA) digital output to connect the player to your home's existing audio system.
- Sub Output: The Node 2 also features a mono-RCA subwoofer output for adding a powered sub. The sub output is full-range; you will need to use the low-pass crossover in your powered sub.
- Headphone Output: A 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the front of the Node 2 for private listening with a set of headphones. The Node 2's output will be muted when headphones are connected.
- 12V Trigger Output: The 12V trigger output (3.5mm) can be used to control or activate other external device equipped with a corresponding 12V trigger input.
Soft-Touch Controls: The Bluesound Node 2 offers soft-touch, top-panel controls to operate basic playback functions like Volume Up/Down, Play/Pause, and Previous/Next Track.
AC Power: The Bluesound Node 2 operates off of standard household current using its internal power supply and the included 6' detachable AC power cord.
Loading...
Loading accessories...
Customer Q&A
18 questions already asked
Loading...
Loading articles...
Recently upgraded from the original Node (1) to the Node2. The Node2 is much better at handling all my music files, especially HD audio. The entire system is faster and easier to use. A great update to the Node product!
Tom from New York