Not sure my the OP went off on @ghdprentice , who I add my thumb up to as a Good Guy, but I am puzzled at some of of his other statements, such as he can’t afford a Bluesound Node as an entry level component while he brags to @cleeds about his Rolex collection. He doesn’t seem cash strapped. Clearly he could sell off one Rolex and probably have something finer than the Node2. I think it would be worth doing without one watch to have the ability to listen to virtually all of recorded music in existence in really good sound, and the OP background with music suggests that he would value good sound.
I have auditioned a few streamers in the $100-$200 range and compared to the Node they sound clearly, audibly inferior. I am not saying that the Node is the Holy Grail of Hi Fi, but I do believe that represents the floor for High End streaming. It does high resolution, MQA, every streaming service under the sun. For the ceiling, read all the other threads here.
We can afford what we value. Unless you are a Plutocrat this involves trade offs. It might involve owning one less Rolex to gain the joy of well reproduced music.
what the OP shouldn’t expect the joy of ownership from a Timex sold at Walmart to be equivalent to one of his pieces of fine craftsmanship. Nor should he expect high end audio performance at transitor radio prices