How To Connect a DAC?

My active speakers are BeoLab 8000’s. My room is 20’ x 40’ with mostly hard surfaces, but also broken up by furniture, protruding bookshelves, etc. The only option for treatment is ceiling absorbent panels.

Is there a rug on the floor?
Or a couple of indoor plants?

I’m cautious because others have said that adding an Aires II to the NODE made no difference. I know it’s a risk that I will get little or no improvement. I’m in a smaller city with only a Best Buy nearby

If they have said that adding the Aires II it made no difference, then why consider it? Why take the risk?
There has to be something with greater certainty of SQ success to pursue.

When I do not know what that is, I usually try and go slow.

In this case, you are considering investing money in “hope”, which against the evidence of the reports that said it made no difference.

I have a Bluesound Node as well and had the same question--I was going to try and connect my Ifi Zen DAC V2 to see how they compared. I emailed Cruchfield customer service and they said that my DAC cannot connect to the Node. You might need a Touslink with another DAC. Keep us posted.

@hoimz

We have 7 4’x6’ utility rugs on the floor.  A carpeted stairway comes into the space.  Upholstered couch and 12 chairs/stools.  6 bookshelves.  3 plants.  Etc.  I don’t notice it being echoey.

I have read many comments by people with a Node who say a new DAC improved SQ.  But others who I have asked about hookup have different equipment than me such as a preamp, which I don’t have.

I don’t think I would buy an Aires II or similar as I’d fear it won’t make enough of an improvement.  I definitely want it to be noticeable.  I am going slow as a quality DAC like a Pontus is expensive.

We have 7 4’x6’ utility rugs on the floor.  A carpeted stairway comes into the space.  Upholstered couch and 12 chairs/stools.  6 bookshelves.  3 plants.  Etc.  I don’t notice it being echoey

I was thinking more of boomy bass modes, but being it is a large room… usually helps.

The hard part here is to understand whether any of the room, subs or bit-stream/DAC gear is going to be significant… and which is more significant.

I would be more tempted to suggest MiniDSP (DIRAC), or some DSP/EQ … or a DAC with EQ as I mentioned previously.
But Roon and some of the other streamers also have S/W-EQ that can implemented for streaming… which points us back to REW and a UMIK to understand what is happening and whether anything needs to be considered.

(We just do not, or cannot know if any of that is significant without a mic or some ears.)

The Beolab advert sheet mentioned that one can stream through the iPad.
How do they sound when doing that?
If it is not vastly different from the Node3, then I suspect that one is giving up some convenience and a lot of $, for no significant improvement. 

EQ would be significant, but if it is already good, then the only way it can go is to get significantly worse… I doubt it is perfect.

@tcotruvo if you intend sticking with the Node 3/N130, regardless of whether you decide to add an external DAC, I would recommend modding the power supply as someone else suggested. Even if you eventually bypass the Node's DAC, the power supply still has a significant, beneficial affect; for me it certainly did.