Auralic Aries Mini or Bluesound Node 2?

Thanks jond,

Yes, I agree it's all about the chemistry of it all. I guess I'm just curious of how that may happen and trying to learn as I thought with the DAC being last in the chain before his preamp it would have the final say in the sound. Should I go USB/V-Link instead of coaxial out of the Mini too? Can that improve the sound of feeding into my Yamaha DACs? It sounds like you guys are dealing with much higher end gear so I doubt I'd notice the difference relative to the extra cost. Same with the power supply. Will $350 give me a noticeable gain in sound quality to justify the cost or are there lower cost power upgrades out there? I have everything plugged into a Furman 15i PC/surge protector and power cords are something I'm eyeballing as my next incremental upgrade.

I think I have my mind made up on the Mini as it sounds like it will serve my basic needs.

@asahitoro 
My advice is do one thing at a time.  Don't buy a V-Link or any other USB/SPDIF converter until you live with the Mini (or Bluesound Node) stock as it were.  Your reply post reminded me...yes, I had tried digital coax out of the Mini into the Gungnir first.  It just sounded kinda thin to me.  I had a hunch about trying things with the V-Link (my Gungnir was purchased withOUT a USB port; previously I used the V-Link between my MacBook and the Gungnir).  The V-Link turned the sound around...from disappointment to happy.  Not saying that'll be true for anyone else though I am pretty certain about what I heard.  Haven't looked back since.  Anyway, don't spend your money unless you have a connectivity issue or a performance problem you think a converter will fix.  Get it from some place (Audio Advisor, Music Direct that has a return option; the V-Link is no longer made by the way). Because I am a stubborn cheapskate about audio, I opted for an iFi iPower AC/DC converter.  It is still a switching supply but supposedly has a ton of filtering to make it quiet and prevent contaminating your AC circuits with noise (or so the dogma goes about the evils of switching power supplies).  Anyway, there's a lot of discussion on Computer Audiophile about the iFi wall wart.  ALSO - check out Audio Asylum, "Duster" has posted some good looking linear power supply stuff from China.  Another option for you.  
ONE FINAL THING - in the interest of full disclosure, my CDs were ripped as ALAC files into an iTunes library.  The Mini plays them fine and displays correct metadata for all (track sequencing, times, etc.) BUT for whatever reason, album art is hit or miss.  Some covers show.  Some don't.  Tidal is perfect.  Stuff streamed from there shows everything.  Just an issue with my iTunes ripped CDs.  Have fun.

Thanks again for the replies and excellent info.

Now I'm leaning towards the Node 2 after some more reading. I can get it for less which isn't much of a factor but the only advantages I see with the Mini is the smaller form factor and ability to add an external HD.

A lot of gratitude is in order for tending to this point. I was searching for the info with respect to the same. Continue sharing the data, praise. Prepaid Gift Balance.