Walk me thru upgrading from my BS Node

+1 to the HifiRose or Lumin recommendations. Also +1 using an extender and cable. I don’t own one, but so many “fawn” over them (as you so aptly described). But serious, excellent sq and UI. I’m personally using a rpi based streamer by Pi2design. If I could swing the $$$$, however, I’d be all over the Hifi Rose. Have also heard a Lumin T1, and that is simply amazing. Also Lumin mini without a dac if you’re going to go with separates (recommended).

As far as the extender, just switching from wifi to using a cable from a network connected extender actually improved sq for my setup. Too many variables to consider exactly why? But the difference was clear, obvious, palpable. Just using a TP Link extender in client mode. It requires just a bit of setup by connecting to it via laptop (recommended instead of trying wps) but super simple after that.

I might also try an Ethernet RF filter. It’s been recommended on the rpi thread about my streamer. Also recommended to use only one in the path in the case of a streamer, not two. We’ll see if it does anything, cheap enough to try.

Lastly, a Melco ethernet cable is a very, very nice Ethernet cable for the money.

If you want the same form factor and an upgrade look into the products from Small Green computer. They are excellent and quick to reply to any email questions you would have.

@poke33 Yes NAD streamers use BluOS for controlling streaming services just like the Node does. 

I resent the PM from yesterday as I saw your message on not having received it. Let me know if you get it. 

FWIW, I stay away from Hifi Rose products. While the large screens are beautiful, I find them to provide a fairly bright and etched sonic presentation at times, and congested and unclear in others. This depends on the model used. I’ve heard them at shows, dealerships, and friends’ homes, never in my own, so take that with a grain of salt. But if you compare the innards of a Hifi Rose unit with say the innards of an Aurender, you’ll see that the architecture of the Aurender is much more robust, especially in the power supply and chassis isolation. I find Aurender to be both more articulate and musical. 

Although a wifi extender often helps there is no substitute for a mesh router/Ethernet for a dedicated connection.

As others have noted I think a one box solution is misguided as far as price AND sound quality.  Unless your home wifi network is robust I would avoid wifi.

Thanks again to all for the council and guidance.... much to evaluate...much to think about and experiment with...