Experience with Bluesound Node 2 use with external DAC

I have a very revealing system: Rogue 99 magnum preamp, Pass Labs XA30.8, Goldenear Tritons One, with sources fed clean AC via a PS Audio P5. The slightest weak link is ruthlessly revealed. I had thought my Bluesound Node 2 sounded great by itself initially, but it started to grate on me. The mids over time were harsh and the bass was not very full compared to my turntable. I suspected the built in analog section in the Node 2 was not up to snuff. After all, it's done with integrated circuits. So I picked up a used Bryston BDA-2 to fix the problem. And man does it sound awesome. The discrete class A output section in that unit is much better than the conversion in the Node 2. So yes, do yourself a favor and get a good DAC. You may not need the latest and greatest with regard to MQA and DSD. What really matters is the execution on the analog side, I believe. The BDA-2 is certainly up to the task for me for a while.

I wirelessly stream my ripped cds from my Vault 2 in my study to my Node 2 in my listening room. I was sold on the Vault 2 because it supposedly does a better job ripping than a regular cd drive on a computer by ripping a "bit perfect" copy to Flac, plus the Vault is always on, unlike my computer. I like having a dedicated server to play my music. I also store downloaded Hdtracks files on it.

As far as wireless quality in and of itself, I'd think the source wouldn't matter, whether it's your computer or a Vault, but that's just a guess. I do know there's no loss in quality from wirelessly streaming from a Vault to a Node vs having the Node also wired by Ethernet. I do get signal loss sometimes though. I'd like to run Ethernet cables in more of my house but I'm not ready to do that because it's quite a project.