Well, if you want your streamer to also be a preamp then perhaps so.
No-one I know uses a pimped Nodey thing with its internal DAC, so you’d be comparing a pure streamer with the 851 purely as a streamer; not sure anyone has done this but maybe I need to read the whole thread again.
Inputs only matter if you’re using it as a pre.
The Node has excellent build quality and an excellent user interface.
And finally, neither of us has heard (well I haven’t, correct me if you have) an 851 as a pure streamer vs a pimped Nodey thing into any DAC of your/my choice, so we can’t really comment on comparative sound quality.
Apart from that, you make a good point!