I moved from a Mac mini based system to a Bluesound Node 2 about a year ago and what a pleasure it's been to leave all that behind. FWIW, I was all-in. I had licenses for Amarra Symphony w/iRC, Audirvana +, BitPerfect, Fidelia Advanced, HQPlayer, JRMC, and Pure Music. I honestly didn't think the Node 2 would even come close in fidelity to my Mac mini (2012, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) and fully expected to go back. Happy to say the Node 2 never disappointed. The sound quality is surprisingly good with it's on-board Burr-Brown DAC. The option to use an external DAC is just icing on the cake. I've used 2 of my DACs with the Node 2 .. a Schiit Bifrost Multibit and a Chord Qute EX. Each of these DACs sells for more than the Node 2 and yet the Node 2 holds it's own pretty well. If I hadn't already owned these DACs I seriously doubt I would have purchased one. I agree with @williewonka .. it's performance is most definitely above it's weight-class.
Bluesound Vault 2 VS Mac or PC audio
Hello Guys,
I'm looking for advise and information from you all in regards to which is the best direction to go with my sound system. I'm pretty sure I will be purchasing a Bluesound Vault 2 next weekend but I am second guessing my decision. The place I buy my hifi equipment from loves these things. I've heard and read pros and cons and now i'm confused. I don't want to be steered to buy something because is puts a bunch of $$$ in the hifi shops pocket. I also don't want to buy something if I'm not 100% positive it's what I want or if there's a better way to do things. If I purchase the Vault 2, I would be able to rip and store cd's or downloads along with stream Hi-Res music. Would I be better off doing this same thing with a Mac or PC computer? Would I get the same sound quality? Not so much concerned about the built in DAC because I'm using an external one. Any info or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.