I'm no digital expert but I have a Node 2i at my girlfriend's and its sound quality is not very inspiring. I can't believe it gets all the praise it does, but I guess that's the nature of this hobby. I've played it with FLACs I know are good sounding from a PC network share, and it still gets trashed by a $500 Fluance RT85 which is subject to some VERY significant feedback issues where it's positioned. I've tried its internal DAC versus the DAC in a NAD C368 it's hooked up to, and they are equal variants of bad lol.
As other have said I'd focus on optimizing your iMac and pick out a DAC upgrade if it fits the budget. I've gotten some halfway decent digital sound from an iMac into a nice DAC. Sometimes an interface like Audiophilleo was necessary for good sound, depending on the DAC.
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