Just got a new Bluesound Node. Very disappointed!

@last_lemming 

Beyond the basic troubleshooting, there are plenty of threads here on how to get best possible sound from BSN. If you’re new to streaming, there is a bit of learning curve (probably not as deep as your analog) so you need to be patient and allow BSN to settle in your system. When using a external DAC, make sure you’re using a good digital SPDIF or USB cable. You mentioned hearing a slight metallic sheen in your music with BSN, here are couple of things you can do to restore naturalness to the music, 

1) Upgrade Ethernet cable to Supra CAT 8 (buy from eBay seller zendada)

2) Upgrade PC cable to Shunyata V14 - C7 or similar

3) Try a inline LAN filter like Acoustic Revive RLI-1GB-TripleC (buy from eBay)

All of the above tweaks + external DAC should help you get most out of BSN in its stock form. There is power supply upgrade as well for additional $258 but I wouldn’t go that far yet. 

Did you turn off the clock as another poster suggested?  This has a huge impact on sound quality.  It always makes a positive difference when you have an external DAC

I just got my node setup yesterday. Had a lot of problems initially and with the help of their it persons got it working great. No problems with the sound yet. I did buy the unit used from another individual, so I don’t know if there were problems before. 
  That said, I did a factory reset (pay attention to the led colors) , deleted the BLos app, and reloaded it again. After about 45 min , everything was up and running. 
  One suggestion I might make is to remove the Dac from th signal path to see if that makes a difference. Second , change the inputs coming into your preamp and evaluate. You might have done this already to track down the gremlin. This process would show what the problem is. It might be even bad cables or a connection problem. 
I know it is frustrating, I had the same type of problems with my turntable hookups. Rerouted cables did the trick for me with that. Good luck.

I own and have upgraded the power supplies in both the 2i and n130.  I’ll pre qualify my observations -  I’m streaming Tunein radio and Spotify, not the ultra fidelity services.  Entry level.  Anyway, stock the 2i has a warmer, cozier presentation while the n130 is less coarse, more dynamic and open/detailed, comparatively a bit  tipped up and light in the bass.  Adding a MHDT Orchid brought a very minor reduction in glare to each.  As in, What?  Did I just blow $1200?
The power board upgrade brought  better extension, low level detail and boosted bass, the Orchid now crushing the internal DAC s.  The n130 streamer still a bit hot on top for my taste and a mellower tube in the Orchid helped some.  It is without a doubt the better performing streamer-only option (using external DAC) of the two.   The 2i streamer has a lot of grunge by comparison.  As for taming the top end, I tried the Schiit Loki mini, liked it, and have the Loki max, love it. 

OP,

”I always assumed to use it as a transport for the digital signal from the BNS and never use it’s internal DAC. So as long as the data file is “true” shouldn’t the SQ be determined by my outboard DAC?”

That is a very logical assumption… but just not true. I have used many streamers from iPhones, MACs, through $3K, $5K an finally I own a $22K Aurender flagship steamer… each step provided better sound (you must have a DAC up to the task of course). My Aurender is simply stunning and brought my digital end to the level of performance to the high end analog side of the system.

I also have an Aurender N100 in my headphone system. You can see my systems under my UserID. 

I highly recommend looking at an Aurender streamer… they come at many price levels. They only make streamers and many of the best.