Is anyone doing this with a Bluesound Node 2 or other streaming component?

2psyop - there is no down side - and if you use a great power cables and IC’s it will sound even better

I think it’s one of the best bargains of the year

I tried running the Node 2 through my Bifrost, but the SQ was not as good, so I ditched the Bifrost

I also have the Powernode 2 driving a pair ofTannoy Mercury F4 towers on my A/V system and it sounds amazing.

And just a couple of weeks ago I purchased the Pulse Mini for outdoors music - it also sounds amazing with a great power cable.

I’ve found the Bluesound products to be extremely good value andeach unit provides excellent SQ.

As for...

despite the obvious lack of preamp functions (switching sources, volume pot, etc).....

Well - I can switch form one input to another via the app and I can control the volume and track skipping from the unit.

Perhaps if we ask nicely they would include input selection on the next version

BTW - my Bluesound is connected to my NAIM 5i which has a passive Input stage, so apart from the volume knob and input selectors it's basically the same as what you are doing - going straight into an amp

Welcome to the Bluesound club :-)

For practical reasons I’ve been using my Node 2 sans external DACs (Chord Qute EX and Schiit Bifrost Multibit) for a couple of months now and I must say, I don’t miss either of them. The on-board DAC in the gen 2 Bluesound gear is surprisingly good ... shouldn’t be according to some, but it is. I think we all need to keep in mind it’s not just about the DAC chip in a product like this (i.e., the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts). Like @williewonka I also think the Node 2 is quite a bargain.

You simply discovered that with equal signals, most DACs sound quite similar. The huge differences people claim to hear can be attributed to the expectation/ placebo effect, similar to cable/IC swapping. No DAC should require a huge transformer or a whole rack width of circuitry. It’s all marketing.