Where’s My Weakest Link?

Nice dig, Otterbein (-:.
I’m new to the thread and after being turned off by some of the rants here from the Usual Suspects, haven’t read all the posts, but my answer to your OP would be the DAC.  The Node 2i canbe made to sound a lot better as you experiment with different DACs.  I didn’t see a budget so Would withhold a more specific recommendation pending that.

The one bit of advice that I question is replacing power cords.  If the amp, pre-amp or whatever is quality equipment, WHY would the manufacturer then hobble its performance by putting an inadequate power cord on it?  It makes little sense to me that they would charge thousands of dollars for the electronics and then omit something like $100 for a good power cord.  I assume that they care about their reputation and want positive reviews vis-a-vis other manufacturers’ equipment, so it seems to me like a foolish economy to cut a corner when the extra expense to do it right isn’t all that much more.  What am I not understanding?

Sorry about the rant, but it does get tiresome to see people asking for help only to get slammed.

I'm not familiar with all your gear but know CJ makes good stuff.  Your source is probably the weak link.  What do you think? 

If you suspect that it is, adding an external DAC will help a little, replacing it with something better will help more.  I replaced Node 2 with a TEAC NT-505 which sounds much more "natural" (less digital, much bigger soundstage).  I had an Auralic Vega connected to the Node 2 and that sounded better than the Node 2 using its internal DAC.  The NT-505 was a significant and noticeable upgrade over the Node 2/Vega combo.  I was also considering a Lumin D2, but got a good deal on the TEAC and am happy I did.

@mahler123 do you have a favorite DAC in the $1000 range?