There is a lot to take in here, particularly for someone as new to the game as I am, and that's without the ASR takes.
@jji666 it is an excellent point to start with what i am trying to achieve. And this is where newbies with less trained ears can struggle. Even, if im honest, in being able to explain what we are hearing or what we wish to achieve sonically well enough to be guided by those with more experience. I started with better speakers which then introduced harshness at the top end. Current amp has tone controls and less treble helped. I was focused on a new amp, but a conversation with an enthusiast made it clear the DAC was the bottleneck. He was kind enough to lend me the Auralic and the difference was huge, even with the current amp. Luckily the same guy let me demo a few amps but that harshness was a problem on them all. @nagel this is where I got my first lesson in cables. Replacing speaker cables and RCA from DAC to amp solved that. Tone controls are now bypassed, but still comes close to a harshness on a few tracks, generally older or lower quality. Coming back to amps, the first was this Xindac V30 with replaced tube's (Gold Lion KT88 x 4, NOS telefunken ECC83 x 2, NOS Raytheon 6SN7 x2) https://www.trademe.co.nz/4897796592 and it was FUN! Tons of glorious bass, but (and this is where things get tricky to explain) ilthe sound was too much. So powerful. Almost makes you jump. Then came a Primare with streamer and DAC. Everything was sweet and balanced but the bass was lacking. It also had some troubling technical issues that put me off. A cheap Rotel was awful, demo lasted about 10 seconds and lastly a Musical Fidelity M5si that was awful in a different way. I could tell the soundstage and separation were streets ahead but vocals terrible. 29 palms was just unpleasant for the vocals. Demo lasted about 20 minutes.
And that brings everything up to date. If I could get the Primare clarity and most of the bass of the Xindac i would be happy.
And this thread came about as I was considering a different DAC to the Auralic i has been borrowing. In the end i bought it as it solved a major bottleneck and was OK price wise. I can upgrade when I get the opportunity to demo others on my room
This isn't that simple in New Zealand (to clear that one up @boulder_bob :) as I will be largely reliant on local used options. Dealers just dont have the volume of sales here to be able to unbox and loan new items for demo.
At least a major bottleneck has gone and cables are making the high notes tolerable. I do feel like tube needs to enter the equation somewhere.
One audio store in Auckland used a Prima Luna hybrid amp that I am pretty sure was set up with the intention of pushing sales of Wharfedale Dentons. It made them sing, so could be a good option for my speakers. I just can't demo it and to pull the trigger would be a NZD11k gamble.
This is, to borrow a phrase, the price you pay for living in paradise.
That's probably enough rambling for now.
I dare say my issues could be 90% resolved with that Xindac and different tube's, but the unit also has a hum (assume all tube amps do) and runs HOT. Would be an issue in summer here.
Anyway, thanks for reading and for all the advice. I have plenty of options to explore when the Auralic needs an upgrade.