Solo streamer

Noting that you had a Gungnir in the past, I recently upgraded to a Merason from my Gungnir, it has been a positive experience. Also noting the comment upgrading digital cable, I just replaced my Transparent USB with a WireWorld Platinum, a very significant upgrade. I owned a Benchmark preamp, and liked it, but it might be worth sampling another DAC vendor. 

I like separate streamers and DACs for the same reasons I like separate preamps and amps.   
 

The N200 is an awesome machine , you should have no regrets     Enjoy until you can really better the Benchmark because it is a good DAC.  It will also be 2x what the DAC 3 goes for …..  Enjoy it and only replace it if you can do a home demo and it is far beyond a lateral move when you do. 

I just ordered a Shunyata USB cable that my dealer says will improve the brightness problem.  Hopefully it will and I’ll have no need for a different DAC.  

I mostly love the sound of the N200 the way it is.

@blisshifi 

Thanks for chiming in…..on a scale of 1-10, where would you rate A15 vs A200. Given @rvpiano system, I suspect he is likely to hear appreciable differences between A15 vs A200.

I have gone through 5 different models of Aurender ($2300 -$24k) over last 10 years and all streamers (transport) from N150 to N30SA are built to very high standards. I recognize the subjective nature of our hobby, no two systems are alike and then there is room acoustics and end user listening skills. My experience lead me to conclude that the differences in streamers are subtle at best and degree of separation between streamers is greatly dependent on external DAC and rest of your system. 

At OP’s price point of $2K - DAC, I believe A200 represents a great value and performance and alleviates him from the headaches of auditioning DAC’s for minimal gain, especially at his price point < $2500. 
 

@rvpiano or anyone else is free to choose the best path as there so many different ways to accomplish a good sounding streaming setup without loosing your sanity :-)

@lalitk The difference is pretty substantial, sonically. I don’t think the A200 would deliver any better than what he’s got going now. The DAC3 is a good DAC at its price point, and the N200 is a more transparent and engaging streamer than what is in the A200. 

Overall, Aurender’s analog output units (with DACs built in) are an attractive way to have a single box for digital, but being the critical listener that I am, I think there are better solutions out there to solve for what the OP wants to accomplish. The DAC in the A15 is quite good, but very linear and detailed, much like a Mola Mola Tambaqui, vs focusing on the natural harmonics and refinement that makes music emotional and tangible. This is not a criticism so much on the Aurender, as the A15 is an incredible value as a combo. It’s basically the $6,300 N200 paired with a ~$3,500 DAC. The $15K A20 is much more realistic sounding, in my opinion, as it should be given almost double the price, and I have a high affinity to that.

My suggestion would be to stay the course with the N200 and find the right digital chain to complement. I think of it as matching a phono stage to a cartridge. The N200 is a stellar source, and the DAC needs to complement the N200 in ways the rest of his system can benefit from.