Apple TV Streaming Sound Quality vs Streamer?

Node doesn’t need a wired connection.  2i version has dual band wi Fi.  It works perfectly for me.

I have never used Tidal, so I can't comment on its SQ with an Apple TV. I  wirelessly stream my lossless ripped CDs from my iMac or my wife's MacBook Pro to either an Apple TV or an Airport Express and use the optical out into a DAC. In my experience the SQ using the Apple TV or Airport Express is identical to the Node 2.

My son purchased a Node 2 a while back and he found no difference between it and his Apple TV using his external DAC. He let me try it before returning it and my results were the same as his. I have 4 systems, 2 with an Airport Express and 2 with an Apple TV. I tried the Node 2 with all four of my systems and heard no difference using my DACs. I tried the Node 2 with its internal DAC, but I preferred the SQ with my DACs.

A very nice thread, the only one with useful advices I could find nowadays.

So, basically, the total: there is no a cheap dual-wifi/equal to HDMi-audi-connection device that sounds the same as wired HDMI/optical and doesn't have an inner DAC. So if I wanna use an external DAC/AV connected either way to ATV, I can't find it on the market with a low price as just a streaming device (only AEX/ATV/Chromecast) just to transfer audio. And the only way that I may try is a Synrcho-Mesh for low jitter, but nothing will make it as good as HDMI/optical, because the lower a bandwidth/upsampling still be presented.

And just a rhetorical question: why just there is no such a device that provides a full bandwidth and not being a DAC > 200$? What's the point if it's a really needed thing for hi-fi/MQA with either a Tidal/CD/wav/flac. I started to dive in all that not a long time ago, but this is the main issue I stuck with and now siting with HDMI Mac-->DAC :-D