The impedance issues with normal RCA connectors in s/pdif transmission are well established. A few 75 ohm RCA connectors are out out there, but many dispute whether they're really 75 ohms in actual use. And who knows about the sockets that the equipment manufacturer is using? Many (most?) of the serious high end stuff uses BNC's. So, at a minimum there's a theoretical basis to prefer true 75 ohm BNC's and cable rather than whatever cheap, "digital" RCA cord came with the kit. Ditto the connectors on the gear. And others have clearly proclaimed to hear a difference.
But are there audible shortcomings that I'm going to hear in my systems? Doing a comparison is obviously very hard. And the audibility would certainly depend on the system and source. I'd be amazed if it were audible on a mid-level system streaming Spotify. But playing through a truly high end DAC into a very resolving system? Well, maybe. OTOH, maybe the Node 2i isn't resolving enough to tell the difference in >>any<< system anyway.
What this really comes down to is leaving no stone unturned. I ended up with 2 Node 2i's and I'm happy with them. One is in a simple, mid-level system. The other is in a very resolving, true high end system. I figure that in the latter case it can't hurt and it might help. Up to a point the work doesn't trouble me, I enjoy it. But not at the risk or breaking stuff.
But are there audible shortcomings that I'm going to hear in my systems? Doing a comparison is obviously very hard. And the audibility would certainly depend on the system and source. I'd be amazed if it were audible on a mid-level system streaming Spotify. But playing through a truly high end DAC into a very resolving system? Well, maybe. OTOH, maybe the Node 2i isn't resolving enough to tell the difference in >>any<< system anyway.
What this really comes down to is leaving no stone unturned. I ended up with 2 Node 2i's and I'm happy with them. One is in a simple, mid-level system. The other is in a very resolving, true high end system. I figure that in the latter case it can't hurt and it might help. Up to a point the work doesn't trouble me, I enjoy it. But not at the risk or breaking stuff.