Is it worth it? DAC question

Ifi makes some great products, so does NAD. I’ve recently put a ifi zen signature dac and streamer in my vintage system and am very very pleased with it. I would say they are both in the same league, so it will come down to your preference. However, I’d bet you’d really like the ifi dac. Good luck.  

Good advice here. Experiments are fun and with a DAC, telling. I added an Orchid to my Node 2i and it was a huge improvement. Huge.

That said, which "Node" matters. They recently upgraded the DAC.

I did an external power supply on my Node 2i via PD Creative. Teddy Pardo is a nice unit but nearly or equal the price of the Node itself, I believe.

The iFi Zen appears to have only a USB input. You can only use it if you have a Node N130 or Node X.

Thanks again for the good advice---I've got the cables to connect just need the 5v adapter then I'll try it. @parker65310 Good to know about Silnote Audio--I'm in VA, will def check them out.

I have a Bluesound Node 2i that I use as a streamer only. I  have it connected to a PS Audio Directstream DAC, and the SQ is magnitudes better than the internal DAC.  I  would have purchased a more expensive streamer,  but I can't find one that supports both Amazon music and Idagio.  So I upgraded with a TeddyPardo LPS; I was very surprised by how much the lps improved the sq. Better bass, wider and deeper soundstage, and improved imaging. And a quality digital cable does make a difference,  despite the " it's just 0's and 1's, so it gets it or it doesn't " argument.