Auralic Aries Mini or Bluesound Node 2?

Thanks jond,

Yes, I agree it's all about the chemistry of it all. I guess I'm just curious of how that may happen and trying to learn as I thought with the DAC being last in the chain before his preamp it would have the final say in the sound. Should I go USB/V-Link instead of coaxial out of the Mini too? Can that improve the sound of feeding into my Yamaha DACs? It sounds like you guys are dealing with much higher end gear so I doubt I'd notice the difference relative to the extra cost. Same with the power supply. Will $350 give me a noticeable gain in sound quality to justify the cost or are there lower cost power upgrades out there? I have everything plugged into a Furman 15i PC/surge protector and power cords are something I'm eyeballing as my next incremental upgrade.

I think I have my mind made up on the Mini as it sounds like it will serve my basic needs.

Thanks for the replies,

I guess I don’t have to have Roon if the DS Lightning SW accomplishes what I need and that is to have some sort of management of all of my music wherever it is being streamed or local and being easily accessible via our devices (mostly iPhones/iPads). I’ll be hooking either up to the Yamaha via coaxial so the Yamahas DACs will be taking over. I like that fact I can install a HD in the Mini if needed. That would save me a connection/cable. My setup is modest, playing through some 90s KEF Reference Model 2s so I’m sure I’m splitting hairs here. If my Yamaha handled Tidal and it had a rear USB port, I probably wouldn’t be considering either of these.

I see a lot of folks here like the Bluesound and haven’t seen much mention of the Mini.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Yes, I don’t understand why the sound improved in your setup by adding the V-Link into the mix? Wouldn’t just going straight coaxial out of the mini to your DAC be the same as USB being converted?

The fact that the Mini’s power supply can be upgraded is a plus. Have either of you upgraded there? I didn't see any discount on the Mini at Underwood HiFi. I have found it for $450 shipped elsewhere.

Thanks again for the replies and excellent info.

Now I'm leaning towards the Node 2 after some more reading. I can get it for less which isn't much of a factor but the only advantages I see with the Mini is the smaller form factor and ability to add an external HD.