Can the Beosound Essence Remote control Bluesound or BluOS players?

Not on its own. There is no official integration between Bang & Olufsen and BluOS. With a bridge in between, such as a DIY setup or Lydbro Zero, the Essence Remote can control BluOS playback, volume, and presets across Bluesound, NAD, and DALI players.

Which brands use BluOS?

BluOS is the streaming platform used by Bluesound, NAD Electronics, and DALI loudspeakers, all part of the Lenbrook group. A bridge that speaks BluOS can control any of them.

Do I need Home Assistant to control BluOS with the Essence Remote?

No. Home Assistant is one route if you already run it. A dedicated bridge like Lydbro Zero controls BluOS players directly on the local network, with no Home Assistant or extra computer required.

Beosound Essence Remote + Bluesound

Use your Bang & Olufsen dial to control BluOS players from Bluesound, NAD, and DALI.

The Beosound Essence Remote is a beautiful object: turn the dial for volume, press to play or pause, flick to skip. But Bang & Olufsen only ever made it talk to B&O systems, and there is no official way to control BluOS with it. With a bridge in the middle, that elegant dial can run your Bluesound, NAD, or DALI players. This guide covers the realistic ways to do it.

First, the honest part: there is no official Essence to BluOS link

The Essence Remote has no built-in path to BluOS or to a hub like Home Assistant. Every method below pairs something with the remote over Bluetooth, listens for its turn, press, and flick, and sends the matching command to your BluOS players. Helpfully, BluOS has a documented local control API over simple HTTP requests, which is what makes both the DIY and the direct-bridge routes possible.

Option 1: Via Home Assistant

Home Assistant has an official Bluesound integration that auto-discovers your players and controls playback, volume, and grouping locally. Home Assistant cannot see the Essence Remote on its own, so you first need to get the remote's gestures into Home Assistant, with a DIY bridge or with Lydbro Zero (see our Beosound Essence Remote + Home Assistant guide). Once its gestures are Home Assistant events, you map them to BluOS actions.

Option 2: Roll your own over Bluetooth

Because BluOS exposes a documented HTTP control API, a small always-on computer such as a Raspberry Pi can pair with the Essence Remote and talk to your Bluesound, NAD, or DALI players directly, no Home Assistant required. This is the most flexible route. The trade-off is that you handle the Bluetooth pairing, wire up the BluOS API calls, and keep the service running.

Option 3: A plug-and-play bridge (Lydbro Zero)

If you would rather not build anything, Lydbro Zero controls BluOS players directly, with no Home Assistant or extra computer involved. It pairs with the Essence Remote over Bluetooth and speaks BluOS on the local network, so turn adjusts volume, press plays and pauses, and flick skips tracks across Bluesound, NAD, and DALI. It is configured from a built-in web UI, runs locally, and updates over the air.

What you can control

Volume, by turning the dial
Play and pause, by pressing
Skip tracks, by flicking
Presets and grouping via custom mappings or Home Assistant

Which option is right for you?

You already run Home Assistant with Bluesound: bring the remote into HA, then map it to BluOS.
You enjoy building with a Raspberry Pi and the BluOS API: roll your own bridge.
You want it to just work, with no server to maintain: Lydbro Zero.

About Lydbro Zero

References & further reading

Bluesound integration (Home Assistant docs)
Beosound Essence Remote (Lydbro Zero)

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