To DAC or not to DAC ?

The answer is yes. Like a Buick is better than a Yugo.

With Porsche taste.

@fullers

Yes. I’m not familiar with the McIntosh preamp but I suspect it is a worthy upgrade.. I am partial to Conrad Johnson preamp myself. You may want to consider this one along with the McIntosh and choose the appropriate one for your needs.

BTW I am not affiliated with the seller in any way

Krell is balanced you should run blanced

Good call @audiotroy 

Would agree with the above.  I had a Freya + here and found it...limiting in terms of sound quality.  The preamp stage of my Chord Hugo2 DAC (not TT2, Hugo 2) significantly outperformed the Schiit.  It just sounded more open and less compressed to a point where my wife asked it something was broken in my system with the Schiit in place.  

I am not saying that this is the best solution but a preamp and/or DAC streamer upgrade can yield real benefits.  There are some streamers/DACs that have very good preamp stages and might be worth considering.  You can always add a separate preamp at a later date.