External DAC?

Great input from the community on all the possibilities!  I have both Schiit Modi3 and Topping D50S and I would a very slight edge to the Modi3 although Topping is so rich in features (Bluetooth 5.0 including AptXHD, LDAC codecs) plus Native DSD to DSD512 (on USB).  And yes, APOS is SUPER easy to work with and the shipping turnaround time (3 days max)  is absolutely amazing coming all the way from China.  I even broke down and got their accompanying linear power supply and there is a small improvement on both the Modi3 and D50S.

I am seriously contemplating on getting a Bluesound Vault2i as I would like to finally store all my CD's in a central repository for significantly easier access but it's internal DAC is definitely an issue when I was demo'ing in a store.  

Also, any thoughts on DSD vs PCM ? I don't think Bluesound plays DSD's natively though.  I downloaded a few albums in both  formats and frankly, have a hard time discerning the difference.  Also, I can't tell much audible difference between DSD 64 vs DSD128 vs DSD256 vs DSD512 of the same recording...  

Much appreciate feedback.

Very happy user of RME ADI-2 DAC FS here. Significant improvement over Node 2i's built in DAC! I also use it w/ headphones and IEMs. Pls check out reviews on B&H Photo, where I bought (and reviewed) one. 

I used to have Node 2 with Shunyata power cable, AQ coffee Coax cable to Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ With SBooster and a nice power cable. Sounded good- all things considered. Now I have a Lumin S1 with Shunyata digital power cable and it blows away my Node/ Mytek setup. Speakers REALLY disappear Soundstage wider, taller, better imaging and separation. The money of a Node 2 + DAC, SBooster, + power and coax cables is somewhat in the ballpark of a Used Lumin S1. 

I am seriously contemplating on getting a Bluesound Vault2i as I would like to finally store all my CD's in a central repository for significantly easier access but it's internal DAC is definitely an issue when I was demo'ing in a store.  

Not to derail the thread, but what I've done is attached a USB hard drive to my PC and made it a shared drive.  I use Foobar 2000 (free) to rip to FLAC.  I have another USB hard drive that automatically copies anything new on the first drive for backup using SyncBack (free) and I also upload everything to the cloud for backup.  I use Serviio (free) as a media server and any DLNA device I have can see and play my tunes.  In my two channel system I use my TEAC NT-505 and BubbleUpNp to stream and my Bluesound in my bedroom.  I prefer not to be stuck with a dedicated device that will become obsolete at some point or be stuck with its DAC.  I'm not sure how easy it is to backup the Vault, but it doesn't look like you can do it in an automated fashion like I am.

There are some good reasons to use a dedicated device, and I'm sure there are some sound quality differences in a very revealing system if you have golden ears, but I can't detect any noticeable difference between the FLAC files when streaming from the HD vs. Qobuz or Tidal in my system.

If I want to upgrade my DAC and/or streamer I don't have to bother with getting them out of one device and into another and my files are constantly being backed up in case of failure of a hard drive, which eventually happens to all of them.

Thanks everyone for the inputs, I really appreciate it.  Based on your comments and subsequent research, I have ordered the RME ADI 2 and the Benchmark Dac3.  I'm going to keep one and return the other based on how to they sound to my ears.  

Which one would you keep if you had the choice?