I have a different experience. When I plugged my new Chord Qutest DAC into my Node2i, I found that the SQ improved a lot. Bass is much better and cleaner. There is more rhythm to my music. Everything just comes alive. The rest of my system is not as nice as yours so maybe that's why Qutest was able to improve the SQ significantly.
Sonus Faber Venere 3.0
Parasound P5
Parasound A23
Audioquest Carbon Toslink (from Node2i to Qutest)
Nordost Blue Heaven RCA (from Qutest to P5)
Sonus Faber Venere 3.0
Parasound P5
Parasound A23
Audioquest Carbon Toslink (from Node2i to Qutest)
Nordost Blue Heaven RCA (from Qutest to P5)