New Innuos Pulse, need assistance.

In my experience, most DACs are optimized for one particular input.  Coax vs. USB vs. AES inputs can sound very different with what the DAC ultimately outputs.  Experiment with the different source inputs to see what is most pleasing to you.  Also, keep in mind that some streamers like Aurender are known to be sensitive to power cords and they will influence the output sound signature.  Not sure if that's the case with Innuos but might be worth making a cord swap.  Good luck and cheers. 

Few things….

1. Allow InnuOS 200hrs of streaming to break in if it’s new  

2. MA8950 DAC is slightly sharp sounding. It’s not that great if it’s the DA1 version. 

3. with coax you use the clock in the streamer. With USB you rely on DAC clock. Worth trying.

4. Cardas digital cables are nothing special. What’s your budget for USB 
 

It’s pretty hard to fathom the Pulse isn’t significantly better across the board than the Node.  What’s the rest of the equipment in your system?  My guess is the Pulse is just revealing the character of other components in your system, and in the end it’s all about synergy.  

Audiophile1-Got over 200 hrs now in break-in.  My DAC is the DA2. Budget for a 3 foot cable is 300.

Soix- My system was stated in initial post, short of speakers which are Sonus Faber and Dynaudio. I have a power conditioner (Isotek Sirius). Cardas Cables.

f its not your cup of tea return it.

Could be many things. First try usb cable. But keep in mind you’re just getting more details with the new streamer. Changing one of the main components such as streamer or dac may require additional changes such as cables or even adjusting speaker placement

Soix- My system was stated in initial post, short of speakers which are Sonus Faber and Dynaudio. I have a power conditioner (Isotek Sirius). Cardas Cables.

Well, then the answer is clear.  Stick with the Node it sounds better to you.  Your ears are the final arbiter. 

My N200 is set for USB. Any other inputs sound close, but USB is noticeably clearer and the bass is better.

BTW, I’m using a DH Labs Silversonic Mirage USB.

The usb cable too will need 200+ hours to fully runin 

whst coax cable where you using 

While a cable might help, I recommend Acoustic Zen for coax, and WireWorld Platinum for USB, my guess is that the upgraded streamer is uncovering the shortcomings of your DAC. Or, and this a stretch, you have excessive noise entering your system. I have found that digital is especially susceptible to interference. Check your cable routing and make sure your Ethernet and coax/USB are not nestled in with power cords. 

I also see that the receiver has volume trim and an equalizer, turn the equalizer off and examine the volume trim. I also see that it will display the stream resolution, make sure it is showing what you expect from Tidal. 

Give it more time.  Some things take longer than others.  I recently purchased a Pulsar and went through the same break in blues you’re experiencing.  Mine took more than 500 hrs. before things leveled out completely. Despite going through this process before I too felt I might have gotten a bad unit.  Nope, all it needed was time to fully break in.  Good cables will improve things once the unit is broken in, but require a break in period of their own.  Wait until the unit is fully broken in before playing with cables or you’ll complicate things and just confuse yourself.  Patience is a virtue 🙃.

I don’t remember it being the case so much when I got the pulse. But boy oh boy, you should’ve seen the ledge my dealer had to talk me off of when I had gotten the pulse mini. Hopefully the magic will soon be upon you as it has been so for many of us. Hang in there

@john1629 - I have electa amator iii with MA8950 and the Node Icon. XLR cables. Transparent. It took about 30 days for the synergy to kick in. Reply here if you wanna chat further about this :)