New streamer? N150 vs U2

“Can a new streamer add that much more?”

The simple answer is Yes, given your consideration for N150 or U2. Now adding a new streamer won’t guarantee an improvement over Node 2. Your network and downstream components (DAC, Pre, Amp, Speakers and cabling) are just as important to squeeze the best performance from your new streamer. Having owned Node (actually Vault) and Aurender N100, N10, N20; I can say without any doubts that they are built to different performance standards. At the end of the day, an audition in your system will help you decide if N150 or U2 worth the extra dough. 

I’m no expert and have not experienced the N150 or U2 my understanding is they are among the best out there for sure,however…

you already a streamer set up to die for  with upgrades you have implemented. I would assume the rest of your chain is top notch but from my nooby perspective MQA has not lived up to its promise overall and dsd content is so limited in availability. Diminishing returns comes mind. I’m not knocking your desire for a better streamer (really trying learn something here). Have you ever heard anything that performs additional MQA unpacking beyond the Bluesounds protocol?