Just got a new Bluesound Node. Very disappointed!

I auditioned the Bluesound Node together with the Lindemann Limetree Bridge, I found the BSN did improve with better outboard DAC's but only marginally, with the Lindemann the better the DAC the better it sounded.

A lot of audiophiles buy and then sell these Node products because they don’t like the sound quality even after upgrading the DAC. Just a fact. Don’t shoot the messenger. 

The way the OP describes the problem makes it sound like a defective unit to me.  And transports do matter.  The DAC is the bigger determinant of the pairing, but the the situation is analogous to a disc transport DAC combination.  You wouldn’t pair a top notch DAC with a $20 DVD player as a disc transport, and a poor player streaming into a good DAC will sound similarly compromised .  I’ve used the Node 2 and streamers that cost 10 times as much.  The more expensive players sound better but the Node has a decent “floor” if not as high a ceiling

Maybe your previous stuff was rolled off and the Node is just showing you what is really there?  But that’s academic. If you don’t like it, give it back. Simple. 

I don’t know if I agree with the digital being rolled off. What I mean is the song is the song (the digital data), from a digital standpoint unless it get modified in the digital realm, the reproduction of the song (analog section) however can obviously make a difference. I guess it’s analogous to tv, the digital rendition of Star Wars is the what it is, but your DVR (pick your poison here) ultimately determines the quality of the picture along with the TV.

Which means to say l’ve been using my DAC on other CD transports; cheap and expensive with literally very little difference in sound quality and with certainly no rolling off frequencies

I mean, every CD player specifications I’ve ever seen has a frequency response that’s flat from like 2 Hz to 20,000 Hz plus or +/-1 dB.