Bluesound NODE ICON

Description

Bluesound’s first true reference streamer

The Bluesound Node Icon (N530) is the model that finally puts Bluesound into proper hi-fi-separates territory. It pairs the BluOS multi-room system you may already know from the Powernode or Node Nano with serious-grade DAC, balanced XLR outputs, Dirac Live room correction and a top-tier headphone amp. None of those appear on the rest of the Bluesound range.

Why the Icon is different

This is the Bluesound product to buy when you want one box to feed a real listening-room system. It plugs straight into a McIntosh, Gryphon, Mola Mola or similar high-end amplifier. It runs Roon Ready out of the box. It corrects for the room you’re actually in. And it drives a serious pair of headphones without a separate amp.

Dual-mono ESS Sabre DAC

Two ES9039Q2M DAC chips run in dual-mono. One chip per channel. The result is lower crosstalk and a quieter noise floor than single-DAC designs. Native playback handles up to 24-bit/192 kHz. MQA, DSD256 and other hi-res formats pass through BluOS cleanly.

Balanced XLR outputs

The Icon has true balanced XLR pre-outs alongside the usual RCA stereo and digital options. That matters when feeding power amps from McIntosh, Gryphon, Mola Mola or any other balanced-input-first design. It’s the right way to wire a serious listening room.

Dirac Live Room Correction

Dirac Live is the gold-standard room-correction platform. It measures the actual room with a microphone. Then it corrects for bass humps, suckouts and reflections every real listening space has. The Icon is Dirac Live Ready out of the box. You provide the measurement microphone (or we provide one on a custom install). The correction is applied in the digital domain.

THX-AAA headphone amplifier

The Icon has two front-mounted 6.35mm headphone jacks. They’re driven by a THX-AAA-built amp. That gives serious power into high-impedance headphones like the Sennheiser HD 800S or Beyerdynamic T1. No separate headphone amp needed in the chain.

BluOS multi-room

The Icon sits inside the same BluOS multi-room system as Powernode, Pulse and Node Nano. You use the flagship as your listening-room endpoint. Cheaper Bluesound players handle the rest of the house. All on one app. One library. One set of streaming-service logins.

Supported streaming services include:

• Tidal Connect (native hi-res)
• Qobuz
• Spotify Connect
• Amazon Music HD
• AirPlay 2 + Chromecast
• Internet radio
• UPnP and NAS-stored library support

The Icon is Roon Ready too. Drop it into an existing Roon Server setup and it shows up as a hi-end zone.

5-inch full-colour display

A 5-inch HD display on the front shows artist, album art and now-playing detail at a glance. A proximity sensor brightens the display on approach. It dims when the room is unused.

Where it fits

The Node Icon is the right answer when you already understand BluOS but want the listening-room endpoint to step up. It feeds a McIntosh, Gryphon or Mola Mola separates rig. Or it acts as the front-end of an active-monitor system. We covered the wider Bluesound case in our Bluesound vs Sonos custom installer view.

Full specifications

• Model: Bluesound Node Icon (N530)
• DAC: Dual ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M in dual-mono
• Native playback: up to 24-bit/192 kHz; DSD256 + MQA supported
• Analog outputs: Balanced XLR pair, RCA stereo, RCA subwoofer pre-out (or wireless to PULSE SUB+)
• Digital outputs: Coaxial RCA, USB Audio 2.0
• Digital inputs: HDMI eARC, Toslink optical, USB-C (PC input), USB-A (external storage)
• Analog inputs: RCA stereo line-in
• Headphone outputs: Two 6.35mm front jacks (THX-AAA)
• Headphone amp output: 150 mW into 16Ω · 235 mW into 32Ω · 56 mW into 250Ω · 23 mW into 600Ω · THD+N 0.0004%
• Room correction: Dirac Live Room Correction Ready (calibration kit sold separately)
• Streaming: Tidal Connect, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music HD, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, internet radio, UPnP
• Roon: Roon Ready (BluOS)
• Bluetooth: 5.2 with aptX Adaptive (two-way)
• Network: Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
• Display: 5-inch full-colour HD with proximity sensor
• Dimensions: 220 × 84 × 193 mm (W × H × D)
• Weight: 2.23 kg
• Finish: anodised aluminium black
• Custom-install control: 3.5mm IR input

Order from Hidden Home Technology

Authorised Bluesound dealer based in Bath. Free UK delivery. Want to hear it before you buy? Contact us to arrange a listening-room demo. We have the Node Icon set up alongside reference DACs and amplification.