It amazes me how people start a thread and then buy an item before they have received all the feedback from the community and then complain about the audience not following the thread closely enough.
For others who might be interested in this topic - I was recently in the same boat though I had a Node 2. After considering a bunch of different DACs I dove in head first and bought a Mytek Manhattan and could not be happier. I had planned to buy just a DAC with no streaming capabilities but Mytek was (probably still is) running a special where they have discounted the DAC by $300 and thrown in the network card for free. On top of that Mytek made a donation equivalent to 10% of the purchase cost to charities on the frontline of the pandemic in NYC. I also liked the idea of supporting a small domestic business during a difficult time.
Regarding SQ the switch from Node to Mytek wasn’t small - it is night and day. The extension on both ends, the presence, sound stage, are amazing but above all was the clarity. I can’t tell you how many lyrics of songs I’ve known for decades I now know correctly (think REM, etc). A bunch of songs that have backing lyrics that I hadn’t realized were there - even being able to count the voices.
I started by using the Node streamer via coax and that was good but the network card is better. Surprisingly I’ve found, at least for Tidal, I like the MyControl Connect HD interface better than Blusound as it gives me ready access to MyMixes and the Artist Radio Stations I was never able to locate using the Blusound interface.
The Mytek Manhattan is a big step up from the Node (~10X $) but to my ears well worth the cost.
For others who might be interested in this topic - I was recently in the same boat though I had a Node 2. After considering a bunch of different DACs I dove in head first and bought a Mytek Manhattan and could not be happier. I had planned to buy just a DAC with no streaming capabilities but Mytek was (probably still is) running a special where they have discounted the DAC by $300 and thrown in the network card for free. On top of that Mytek made a donation equivalent to 10% of the purchase cost to charities on the frontline of the pandemic in NYC. I also liked the idea of supporting a small domestic business during a difficult time.
Regarding SQ the switch from Node to Mytek wasn’t small - it is night and day. The extension on both ends, the presence, sound stage, are amazing but above all was the clarity. I can’t tell you how many lyrics of songs I’ve known for decades I now know correctly (think REM, etc). A bunch of songs that have backing lyrics that I hadn’t realized were there - even being able to count the voices.
I started by using the Node streamer via coax and that was good but the network card is better. Surprisingly I’ve found, at least for Tidal, I like the MyControl Connect HD interface better than Blusound as it gives me ready access to MyMixes and the Artist Radio Stations I was never able to locate using the Blusound interface.
The Mytek Manhattan is a big step up from the Node (~10X $) but to my ears well worth the cost.