Next Best Upgrade for Tidal MQA?

@brux

ok, got it. i agree w jack d - priority 1 is get that marantz avr out of there - it is definitely the weak link

lots of good clean line stages out there, any one of them will improve the purity of sound by replacing the marantz receiver

you seem to like the clean and lean school of sound, more detail, rather than the other school which i would call the 'rich and saturated full fat cream' school... in which case i would say... the mytek dac is definitely in that school already, stick with it

most of the time folks who stream (and stream tidal) say that they want music that is richer in tone, more full and rounded (i.e. more analog in flavor), in which case I would suggest any of a number of different dacs

in your case, upgrade the preamp, remove the marantz, and see how you feel

happy to suggest various good pre’s... parasound jc2 is a good one if you like the brand, maybe even try a tubed unit see if that sound is something you like (dunno if you have had tube gear before)

good luck have fun

Never had tube gear before.

First blush, looks like the Rogue Audio RP-7 might be worth looking into?

Before buying the KEFs, I nearly pulled the trigger on Wilson Yvette’s, but decided that I didn’t want to risk that expensive gear on my (at the time) 3 and 6 year olds. However, what I loved about the Yvette’s was the soul behind the music. The R11’s are the closest I’ve come to conveying that sound at a risk-worthy price, while also having some other strengths (e.g. the Beastie Boys sounded terrible on the Yvette’s, but great on the R11). The point of that long explanation - maybe a tube preamp can bring a bit more of that soul?

@brux

tubed gear has a magic... thousands of us around the world would never have a high end system without at least tubes in one stage...we are not all deaf!

try it... you may well join the club!

rogue is well reputed, i have not had one... you may need to do a little searching if you must have the HT bypass, but they are out there... i know conrad johnsons have them in their linestages, which are truly excellent btw...

How's the heat on a tubed pre-amp?

pretty minimal, but depends on model

for example the conrad johnson et5 runs just a single tube... they don't even vent the top panel...