Another streaming newbie

Chuck, a few thoughts about your responses.

The TEAC NT-505 has a much "warmer/analog like" sound than the Bluesound.  The other thing I noticed immediately was a much bigger and more lifelike soundstage.  Not warmer at the expense of detail either, there is plenty of that.

Don't get me wrong, the Bluesound sounds surprisingly good, especially at its price point.  You get a lot of convenience and very decent sound in a reasonably priced device.  It may actually sound better than your vinyl in the sense that you won't have all the background noise, ticks, pops, etc. that are part of the vinyl experience.  What you won't get is the "magic" that happens when you have a good vinyl setup and if you do some back to back comparisons you'll notice more "grain" and "edge" to the sound of the Bluesound.

I personally am indifferent to MQA.  Qobuz is my main streaming source (I also have Tidal, Spotify, and Pandora), and to my ears, it sounds as good or better than Tidal, especially the hi-res files.  

As far as the controller app, I believe it connects wirelessly, not through bluetooth, but yes, it allows you to control the streamer from your phone or tablet.  Some devices have a touch screen that allows you to do it manually, but for the Node 2i and TEAC and many others, the only way to control them is from an app.  Some also have apps that can run on your computer (Bluesound does).  The app lets you connect to your streaming service(s) as well as any local library you might have.  Not all services are supported by the different apps.  Bluesound is nice because it supports a wide variety of streaming services.  Tidal and Qobuz seem to be pretty widely supported, but that's something to check before you buy - what services are you using and are they supported.

Greg, thanks a lot - seriously - for your input (and everyone else - that a person can go online and get thoughtful discussion re all of this still is incredible to me).  Yeah, the vinyl - well, on some albums, it's still  just dead quiet; I clean records pretty regularly, etc. But invariably, little pops creep in.  Album replacement starts at about $40 so vs HUGE streaming catalog at $10-20/month. That's the real power of streaming.  Your description of the Teac is compelling. 

@blkwrxwgn how do you get digitial out from an iphone and bypass its internal DAC?  Ah, I looked it up, run cable from the lightning port to DAC.  But it leaves my streamer/controller wired to the system and that defeats one of my main goals. Rats, at first I thought this might be a way to start...

Oh... qobuz. Never heard of it until this thread.  I will look into it.  And I never imagined maybe having more than one streaming service! I am old!

I'm the dummy who said Node 2 Ci. So, here's my correction: I should have called it a Node 2i, which is what I meant to say initially.
Now I would like to assure you that, while the Bluesound products are said to fail at tickling the upper reaches of audio purity, they have a very strong following among former purists such as myself, and seemingly, you. So, take my advice and buy one from Crutchfield or any other reputable outfit that will extend you a 60 day money back guarantee. This will give you familiarity with the whole streaming experience and prepare you to proceed from a position of some familiarity should you find that you want to take things up a notch. Return shipping on a 5 lb. item will be your only cost.
Another approach, the one I took, is to buy an NAD M-10 integrated amp to replace everything you now own. It keeps you in the Bluesound universe, gives you an ESS Sabre DAC, excellent streamer, N-Core amplification, Dirac Live room correction, and a compact, elegant looking one box solution. The only other thing you will need is speakers - and you already have great ones. It weighs 11 lbs. and delivers 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms. All the other benefits listed concerning Crutchfield will still apply. They have excellent customer service as well. They will hold your hand all the way through any difficulty or confusion you encounter. I was where you are now last September when I followed the advice I'm offering you now. Very happy with the M-10. Read the reviews. John Darko and Hans Beerkhuyzen have very good explanations on video.

@bajaed  The trick is to hold on tight to your budget! So many attractive options that get pricey in a hurry. I am already thinking about options well past my $2k...