I am not familiar with the CD player the OP has but it sounds like a multiple disc player. Such players were made for convenience in the pre streaming days and usually the DAC in the player isn’t very good, so it’s possible the Node 2 DAC is better. The latest Node DAC is an improvement over previous models and we are not sure which one the OP has
. In addition the OP seems to lack a conventional pre amp. Some DACs have enough gain that for digital sources they don’t require a pre amp. However I have always preferred to use a pre amp because inimo they sound better, but ymmv. My advice would be to use the integrated amp in the closet; trying running the CD player directly into the amp, and then compare the sound to the CDP running into the Node which is the connected by analog to the amp.