Just installed a bluesound node 2i , quality not so good

emergingsoul, what eq are you using with your Marantz? Direct? I’m not very familiar with Marantz AV receivers. On my Onkyo, I have various eq settings. IE; Orchestra,Acoustic,Theater,Direct. On the rare occasion I listen to stereo,I use 2ch Direct for best SQ. I hope I explained this right. 

@OP, 
As listed earlier, an Ayre Codex, now running under $1K used.
Or, a Schiit Gungnir Multibit used- for a little less used, should provide you with enhanced sound quality.
As far as the Mac DAC, I would keep searching. Though it would probably be an improvement, I think you could do better.
My 2 cents....
Bob

Thanks.
rocray, like the diversity of sound settings. Don’t have these but do use auto direct so I can include the sub for stereo.

presently searching for a higher quality dac.  So many to chose from, kinda like all the ice cream choices.  If I can find a chocolate Chip cookie dough dac I’ll be happy. 

Thorens td 125 (Hana eh)
vincent SA-T7
bluesound node 2i 
music hall dac/cd
bob latino st-120
bob crites cornscala speakers

ive had the node 2i for about 8 months now, and at first I wasn’t really impressed. I mean it sounded ok, but didn’t have the magic. But here’s the thing, (you know the thing! Lol) I was streaming over the WiFi. I learned about the fiber optic bridging people were doing and thought I’d give it a try. A reasonable tweek under $200. Well it was night and day, huge improvement! I think I bought cat 8 cable but I can’t remember.

Dang it! Just checked my amazon history when I bought the fiber optic bridging gear. Prices have dropped by about half! Anybody streaming should do this tweak, you have no excuse now! Dramatically improves sound. Oh and I did get cat 8 Ethernet cable.