Step by step is the best way to go. As suggested, first ditch the Mac DAC. USB 3.0 outboard DAC's are in the pipe line and that will make a difference. It will also give you a path to further improvement.
+1 to what Zd542 said. If it 'sounds great', walk away and spend your money elsewhere.
The law of diminishing returns hits early and hard in this hobby. You could spend a fortune chasing the ever elusive 'absolute sound', or you could just be happy. The choice is yours.....choose wisely.
Look at your room . bass traps have never had a negative impact on any system i have ever heard . If you are a diy type at all they are simple to build . And it will save you at least half off of new.Search superchunk bass trap if you are at all interested in learning about them. In my experience some room treatment has had a bigger impact than switching amps and pre's in the same price range . Good luck !
I second Steve's suggestion. Even though the DAC supports async USB, it's worth trying out a top-notch USB/SPDIF convertor (on trial?) to see if it betters quality. If not, then the investment is worth going towards a DAC upgrade. In my experience power conditioning is a must on your source. Even a Tripp Lite isolation transformer makes a difference.
Steve, can you recommend any signal transformer to go between the DAC/amp?
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