i wonder if the Bluesound Node with the PSU upgrade would trump the IFI Zen Stream?
There’s nothing to trump. The ZS is a pure network audio transport, basically just a Volumio-based microcomputer that iFi prebuilt for you, with some arcane “ANC” and “anti jitter” reclocking something-or-another they added to the digital outputs, plus a very nicely executed Roon bridge built in.
There are no better “sounding” options than this—as a pure streamer, the only differentiating factors between the ZS and other higher priced equivalents are more busy and expensive hardware GUIs, maybe some DSP options, and whether they have an integrated DAC built in.
Otherwise, since they all exist purely in the digital domain, they’re all going to sound exactly the same by definition. Based on sound quality alone, there’s no reason to spend more than the very fairly-priced $399 the ZS costs, unless you’re in the market for an integrated DAC. Even PS Audio, the Kings of Snake Oil, recommend the ZS as a Roon Bridge.
I “upgraded” to the Neo Stream for admittedly silly reasons—it supports DSD512 and PCM768, and I’m accustomed to upsampling my DSD files to 512 in Roon. I’m fully aware that it is very unlikely that this offers any audible difference between DSD256; I just like the shiny object aspect of the thing.
I continue to bypass its internal DAC, sending the unadulterated signal stream to my Topping d90se via USB. And since I’m using an asynchronous USB connection between the two, even the “anti-jitter” thingamabob is pointless because my DAC’s clock is the master in this setup.
If you’re only interested in a pure streamer, please don’t get suckered into the marketing boilerplate from pricier brands—it’s a total ruse.