We are a bluesound dealer after reading your post
Ehernet hookup
the ess dac in the macintosh wil sound better
neveruse optical coax or usb willl be best
With such a nice system you may want to explore even better streamers later
The nnode is excellent but is bettered by more expensive streamers
Hope this helps
Dave and Troy
Audio intellectNJ
streaming specialists
Best Way To Connect A Bluesound Node
Just upgraded to a Bluesound Node streamer and would appreciate your thoughts on how best to use it. Set it up yesterday; iPad Air running Bluesound software (running Qobuz and Tidal) via WiFi to the Bluesound Node, analog out into a McIntosh C52 preamp, MC312 power amp and Magico A5 speakers. SQ was excellent IMHO. I know I have to try this for myself, but, will SQ improve if I connect via bluetooth instead of WiFi? Similarly if I connect the Bluesound Node via an optical cable into the C52 and have the McIntosh act as the DAC? Any other suggestions you have to optimize SQ would be appreciated.
Finally, those of you that have upgraded to a C53 from a C52, is this a worthwhile upgrade?