Bluesound Node Icon

I don’t have personal experience with the icon. I have the node and node 2i. 
I didn’t do a direct comparison. The node is used as a streamer only and the 2i is used with the internal dac on the patio. 
I hear a lot of talk about upgrading the streamer. One video from moon audio suggests the streamer is about 30% and the dac is 70% of the sound. I’d think if you’re looking for sound improvement you would have to go up to a much more expensive streamer and probably the upstream internet line. 
I myself am looking at other areas to improve. 
That’s not to say the streamer doesn’t matter. 

The British Audiophile does YouTube reviews.  He did a recap of his favorite products of 2024 and ranked the Bluesound Node Nano very highly for sound quality. It's only $299.

https://youtu.be/5z1jZ9I6tNM?si=ehh8jXOH5iWXNxac

I am a 3-system Bluesound user as well.  It would be nice if Bluesound stepped-up their game and offered a product just under the the Innuos Zen Mk3/ Aurender N200 level.  Featuring i2s connectivity would make it very attractive.

What is I2S ?

I too am hoping Bluesound will come out with a Higher end streamer only product.

I2S is a serial bus interface specially designed for communicating digital audio data between integrated circuits (ICs). The I2S protocol sends pulse-code modulation (PCM) audio data from a controller to a target.

That's a Google result.  It's a digital connection much like USB.  If your dac doesn't have an I2S input, it wouldn't be much of a benefit for you.