Upgrading your system three options DAC, Cartridge or speaker cables???

I should think that would depend on which you're more interested in improving, your digital or your vinyl? DAC for Digital and Cartridge for vinyl, though phono preamp is also VERY important, maybe more so than the cartridge.

@big_greg the only thing the OP needs is a new external DAC and a digital coax cable using the coax out on the 2i and you bypass the 2i DAC. 

I went down that path with a pretty high end DAC. The NT-505 sounded better to me. By the time you spend all that money slapping bandaids on the Node2i you could just get a much better unit.  Lumin is another option to consider. Back in the day, you could drop a V8 in a Vega. It would go a little faster and make more noise, but it was still a Vega.

@big_greg the only thing the OP needs is a new external DAC and a digital coax cable using the coax out on the 2i and you bypass the 2i DAC. 
 

Easy. 

+1 @big_greg 

The teac sounds very good. The caveat is poor setup instructions and network issues I encountered. In my case the need for a tablet that I could see.. Somehow I got the bugs out. But this is my first streamer

See if you can find a TEAC NT-505.  It's been discontinued, but there are still some out there.  It is a streamer / DAC and is a nice step up from the Node 2i.  I would avoid trying to "upgrade" the Node 2i with an external DAC, cables, etc.  I went down that path and replacing it with the NT-505 gave me the most bang for the buck.

I would spend my money on a DAC as you are 80% streaming.

My initial thought is DAC given your 80% streaming.

Speaker cables may not be the first choice but given I owned Canare 4S11 and did testing of speaker cables.  Here's my experiences....I tested Rocket 33, Kimber Kable 12 TC and Kimber Kable Bifocal as upgrades over the Canare 4S11.  The Bifocal's are over $1k and I preferred their sound significantly over the others.  I preferred the Canare 4S11 over the 12TCs and Rocket 33s - and they were ~$100 from Blue Jean Cables.

I would get a DAC. There are plenty on Audiogon in your price range. 

Yup dac but cables can make HUGE improvements as well. Too many to suggest it's best to try in your own system.

@lobinero - If you want to get the very best out of the Node2i I can recommend getting some quality cables - i.e. Power cables + Interconnect - like those from Zavfino

The Fusion - Solid Pure Silver & OCC Copper - ZavfinoUSA

Power Cables - ZavfinoUSA

Pick a power cable with UP-OCC copper conductors - or the silver cables are even better.

The Node 2i uses a 2 pin plug qand Zavfino does not yet have a 2 pin cable - but  you can use an adapter 

IEC C13/C14 to C7/C8 Kettle Lead to Fig Eight Figure 8 PC Laptop Cable Adapter : Amazon.ca: Electronics 

You will notice improved dynamics, clarity, details and image

It might seem a little strange  putting such high priced cables on such an affordable  Streamer, but it pays huge dividends in sound quality.

I consider cables as important as my components and using high quality cables throughout has had a huge impact on the performance on all of the components.

Once the cables are addressed then you can upgrade other components with the knowledge that the cables are allowing them to perform to their very best ability.

.I have the Node 2i and it amazed me as to how good it was - once I treated it to some good cables

Regards - Steve

I would lean toward a better DAC, particularly because you mostly stream music and the DAC in most low-cost streamers are pretty bad.  If you don’t use your record player a lot, your cartridge may still have a lot of life left, and it is a decent model.  In your budget range, it makes more sense to stick with a good MM cartridge rather than going for a low-end MC (particularly if you also need a step-up device too).  As to wire, you would get less bang for the buck because you are already using something decent.

Two ideas; and in the the spirit of being in this mad hobby, both of them are a teeny tiny bit more than your target budget.

I just added an RME ADI DAC-2 FS to my system and I'm a bit shocked at how much it outperforms the very capable Accuphase DAC-40 Option card installed in my E-470. I'm a total Accuphase fan, so didn't expect such a jump in SQ. I purchased the RME partly because it is so feature laden. It's just plain fun to use and a joy to look at. It's paired with a NODE, and also the optical out of our TV. I sometimes see used RME's for about a grand here and on UsAudiomart. Obviously there are a lot of great DACS out there and some would make the case that the RME could be bettered in sound quality for the price, but I can think of no other DAC that is so full of features.

My other idea is to get a Hana MH. I bought one for a secondary system in which I wanted to use an inexpensive phono preamp so I figured that the high-output version would lower the noise floor enough that any loss in ultimate resolution inherent in the higher mass of the pick-up would be a good tradeoff. This cart on a modest system is freakin' awesome. I'm going to replace my Ortofon Cadenza Black with it on my main system for an experiment and I'm girding myself for the possibility that this HOMC at half the price of the Ortofon LOMC will sound amazing. 

Well, you have a fun problem to solve. I'm sure you'll get a lot of other worthy ideas too.

~Oran

I agree that since you're into streaming you need a standalone DAC, don't forget the cable. The Node internal Dac isn't capable of competing with CD quality. This will be a very audible upgrade to your system.

In fact I would just keep using the Audible Illusions preamp for LP playback. No pressing need to add a separate phono stage!

If you have a substantial LP collection then go for a better mc cartridge/phono stage. Wire should be the least of your concerns!

since you say you stream music most of the time,  i would say the onboard dac inside the node 2i is a substantial bottleneck for sound quality in your set up

there are many standalone dacs in the $1000 range to consider that will outperform it... just search the digital section for discussions on dacs in that price range

good luck