$10k DAC in a 3k system?

Dragon_vibe,
Yes, my comments were precisely based on listening experiences of many different audio systems over the years. I must respectfully disagree with shadome’s post. I don’t believe that you can accurately apply a rigid cost ratio amongst audio components when constructing a system, far too many variables and exceptions to account for.

Speakers are often said to be the "most" important link in the audio chain and thus require the greatest expenditure. Yes they’re important but so is "every" component link in the audio chain. The weakest link will by default be the bottleneck.

You can develop an excellent sounding system with the speakers being less expensive than the source, preamplifier or power amplifier. The truth is that there are multiple methods to allocate money toward assembly of an audio system that results in terrific sound quality.

My contention is you have to actually listen to components/speakers rather than make determinations based on solely preconceived price points and ratios. I do believe that generally speaking  quality increases with cost, however High End audio has numerous exceptions to this rule. Successful synergy isn't exclusively tied to spending ever more money. 
Charles

I note that your Rega integrated amplifier has a rather low line-level input impedance of only 10K, and that it provides only unbalanced RCA inputs. I couldn’t find an output impedance spec or measurement for your DAC, but it appears that its RCA outputs are driven by a capacitively coupled tube-based output stage. In many designs that kind of output circuit will not be able to drive 10K with optimal results, rolloff of the deep bass being a particularly frequent consequence. Although that may or may not be noticeable depending on the deep bass extension of your speakers.

(It also appears that the DAC’s XLR outputs are driven by a solid state output stage that probably has significantly lower output impedance than the RCA output circuit. But for several reasons I doubt that it would be desirable to use the XLR outputs via any kind of adapter arrangement or transformer).

So while I would certainly expect introducing a 10K DAC into your system to make a difference for the better, I wouldn’t be surprised if a leading contributor to that improvement were simply that the upgraded DAC would provide lower output impedance and better drive capability. Which of course is readily obtainable at vastly lower price points.

Aside from that consideration, it seems to me that in determining the weakest link in your system one need look no further than the fact that your box-type (non-planar) floor-standing 3-way speakers weigh only 26 pounds.

Good luck, however you decide to proceed. Regards,
-- Al

There are a number of really good <$2k dacs in the market in the last 5 years. Mytek and Schiit among them.

I would spend all the rest of your money on room treatment. :)

Best,

E

3K system?
10K DAC?
I'd say you better go back to square 1 and think about how wrong this is.