A CD PLAYER whose sound quality NOT AFFECTED by the DAC?

Do you really feel that a $650 unit is high quality compared to???

While the Node is a good sounding unit it is in no way high quality IMO.

The Node is like owning a Corvette, riding in a Miata, selling the Vett because the sound of the Miata’s exhaust system is what you really wanted after all. 

If a CD player does not have a jitter free output the DAC has no chance of improving. If the signal from the transport is not transmitted via a pulse transformer to the DAC’s  ground currents can increase causing a lost of resolution. If no pulse transformer is used you can have mismatch of impedance causing errors can happen.

 So buying a DAC from the company that makes the transport is a good idea. Having single unit is nice in that because there is no transmission between the two units. 

 I took 1990s PS Audio, redesigned the power supply, the timing and installation pulse transformers it now sound better than my OPPO 205 and many other transports. So it’s important to know the the transmission between units is optimized. I use the Oppo just for streaming and yes it can sound better with some help.