Newbie Q about DACs - built in or separate?

The DAC in your Mac is not bad at all in my opinion.  My Dad's 8950 has the DA2 and it sounds pretty good.  

I would start by listening to your Luxmans analog outs and compare to the internal DAC.    Then possibly demo a DAC or two in your system if possible.    

DACs have evolved a lot.   My main system has a separate DAC but my second system's internal DAC sounds really good.    I actually sold my RME DAC because the internal DAC sounds so good.   It was redundant .    I think there are definitely some inherent advantages of built in DACs if they are implemented well.

Have to try it and see

Definitely good gear ...   

@tshark "Go Stars!"

Excellent question and I encourage you to run some experiments to given your current gear does have some optionality.

If you are currently using your McIntosh's DAC for CDs try the Luxman and find out what differences you hear if any.

If you hear a difference, what do you prefer?  I think this is important - different gear can sound different and beauty is in the eye (or in this case ear) of the beholder.

There are pros and cons on using built in DACs within Integrated Receives, CD players and even Streaming/DACs.  I recommend the trying different configuration of your equipment so you may determine if an upgrade is worth the price.

@tshark McIntosh built in DAC is ok. I suspect the DAC in your luxman cdp is better. You have nice gear. Try running luxman into 8900 using nice XLR cables and evaluate luxman vs McIntosh dac. 

Thank you for providing some clarity. I can see I need to critically listen with the options I have before adding another component. 

Q - if I were to look at a separate DAC, should I stay within a price range so as not to overbuy for my system?  I don’t mind spending $$$, as long as it is the right component to upgrade. 
 

thx!