Any Bluesound Node2 owners

I’m using a Node2i with a ARC Dac7...no complaints and no desire to spend $1500+ on a noticeably better streamer. I also took the advice from those who claimed that upgrading the power cord on the Node was a must do. And FWIW, I A/B’d MQA straight from the Node vs my DAC which doesn’t decode MQA and In my opinion the Dac7 is absolutely superior. 

bubba12

I have an Oppo 205 so can’t say for certain the DAC in your 105 will sound better than the Node but I bet it will be noticeably better. To do it right you need a digital coax cable so not any rca cable and I’d say avoid Toslink as well. If you don’t have a digital coax then pick up a Canare to experiment with as it’s very affordable and very good. Need a min. of a 3ft cable... I suggest a 4ft cable. Once you hear your Oppo as the DAC I bet you’ll understand why many use the Node/Vaults as streamers only.

I've used a Node2 for 3 years along with Tidal, no DAC, hard wired WiFi. I stream to 2 systems, first +200k, second 100k. I use Roon via a Surface laptop, or an iPad.
I see no reason to change the Node2 or add a DAC at this time. I do have an Oppo205 but only use it’s DAC for cable TV out via the main system.
My advice is to understand the BluOS app and also the TIDAL app. Check Roon out also if you are storing music on a NAS or PC.
Enjoy 🇦🇺

Kveteran, The official fix for the "Northern Lights" emanating from the NIC on the back side of the Node 2/2i is some carefully placed electrical tape.

IMO the Node 2(i) is one of the best-bang-for-buck HiFi products around.
I agree with those who suggest just using it for a while before investing in fancy cords or cables.  I do prefer it wired (ethernet) to WiFi, but especially if you have fairly fast internet service,  WiFi  might work fine for you.

I also agree that instead of buying a stand-alone DAC to use with the Node 2, you might want to wait until you are ready to upgrade the whole shebang. Any of several integrated DAC/streamer/preamp products at around $3K would offer a nice one-shot upgrade. The Matrix Element X, iFi Pro iDSD, or a used Auralic Vega G1 would deliver USB and balanced outputs along with any improvements to the DAC.