DAC upgrade

Oh, and replacing your Node would be a mistake as well, since you already own an outboard DAC. Contrary to the crackpot consensus around this forum, the primary factor in choosing a stand-alone streamer should be its operating software, and rather unfortunately, Bluesound’s is already the best. The main problem is that most around here are like kids on Christmas morning when they receive a shiny new toy in the mail. Of course those same 1s and 0s are going to sound better when you approach “upgrades” in that frame of mind. Meanwhile, many of them own speakers that are distortion machines, or are not remotely capable of a linear response. That or their speakers are 12 inches from room boundaries. Silly.

Some streamers that are head and shoulders better than the NODE

• Sonore OpticalRendu
• Playback Designs Streamer-IF
• Lumin X1

I owned all 3 and compared them side-by-side. The Node is a toy compared to these 3. The beauty of the gear listed above is that they all use a Fibre Optic cable. It is not just 1’s and 0’s that matter with regards to streaming, the noise that gets into the DAC from what the DAC is connected too matters, RJ45, USB, etc. Read up what some great DAC designers think of Fibre and not experts on this forum (like me).

Merason Frerot DAC + Upgraded Power Supply.

I have both Benchmark DAC3 B and Frerot and while Benchmark has nice detailed sound Frerot is just pure, analog like sounding music.

All I know is the vinyl side of my system sounds clear, clean, precise, dynamic, great soundstage and separation… glorious. I would put my system up against any like priced system.
The digital side, good soundstage, dynamic but not as clear clean or precise. Not bad, but certainly not near the sound quality of vinyl. I would NOT put my system up against any like priced systems  

That leaves the DAC and/or the streamer as the problem. New DAC arrives today, so we shall see. 
As I said at the beginning, I am a vinyl guy. I play digital as a convenience, while that may increase with the improvements, I am not willing to spend more on the digital side vs analog. I don’t need digital to be glorious, just very good. 
So, on a like for like purchase, my Rega Aris and Qutest are very equal. On the streamer side, I am thinking something like Auralic Aries G1.1. vs my 1Xpression/ Hana ML. Thanks 

I would also consider Simaudio Moon MiND 2 streamer.

I have it in addition to the dCS Network Bridge and Moon, while as not as good as Bridge, comes pretty close.

@helomech 

Sorry if you don’t like my R11’s and/or my Warp 1. While speakers are a matter of taste (and measurements) the R11’s are very well reviewed & were EISA award winners for best high end speakers. I consider them to be a strength, perhaps my strongest component. 
I needed a class D amp for form factor. The LSA is also very well reviewed and (I think) the best price performance class D amp on the market… albeit maybe a little underpowered for my KEF’s. 
My MM2 is definitely my weak link. Thanks