Going to try digital

Left a something out. You can also pay 10 a month for tidal,  the 20 per month is for hifi people.  The music is also completely unlimited.  I have found every recording that I have looked up. I've been using it for 2 months. Strictly with our phones as controllers. It does have wifi, but I hooked it strait thru with a cat 6 cable.

I agree that the Bluesound Node2i ($500) is the best option (Vault 2i ($1200) if you want to rip CD’s). 
 
It’s internal DAC is fine, though an external one would likely be welcomed. Depending on how much you want to spend: 
 
* Schiit Modi 3 ($100)
* SMSL SU-8 ($250)
* March Audio DAC1 ($400 shipped)
* SMSL D1 ($1300) 
* Benchmark DAC3 L ($1800, +$100 for remote)

Scooter,

OK, I'll describe my system, but keep in mind I started down the digital path (not CD) 7 years ago. Attempting to do what I do as a first step would be a recipe for likely frustration, maybe turning away and missing a larger opportunity.

My front end is made of two computers: a powerful Win 10 PC with fans, hard disc drives which makes it a non-audiophile computer. Here I store my music, run Roon core which also accesses Tidal. I control Roon from an Android phone. Roon also delivers music to other devices over the house.
From the Win 10 PC I have Roon stream through ethernet cable to HQPlayer (software) housed inside an audiophile PC sitting on my rack. This PC has no moving parts: solid disc, passive cooling, linear power supply, 3M RFI absorbent inside, etc, etc. It runs on Windows Server 2012 R2 with Audiophile Optimizer in minimal-server mode. And it runs HQPlayer which convolves (applies a digital filter to the music stream it receives) with filters made on Acourate (DSP software) to output 3-way digital out of the USB card and into the multichannel DAC.
There aren't many multichannel DACs in the market and I suggest you stick with two channels first.
My DAC is a Lynx Hilo: it receives 3-way stereo (6 channels) thru USB and outputs analog signals to: 2 active subwoofers (Rythmik kit, DIY box) (from 20 to 70Hz), 2 Hypex UcD400 kits powering midbasses (70 to 350Hz), and each channel in the MC275 to drive midrange and treble. My speakers are B&W 804S, where I removed the woofer to midrange crossover and drive the woofers directly from the UcD amps. The MC275 is connected to midrange+tweeter, where the passive crossover between them is still in place.

After experiencing what is possible with digital crossovers in an active system and room correction I've spent the last couple of years learning about speaker design and plan to replace the 804S with my own 4-way speakers.

I encourage you to read through these articles to understand what is possible:
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/ca-academy/acourate-digital-room-and-loudspeaker-correction-software-...
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/ca-academy/advanced-acourate-digital-xo-time-alignment-driver-lineari...

These articles were an inflection point in my journey. I started implementing Acourate-generated filters through JRiver playing on a laptop and onto a 2-channel DAC, just applying room correction. Later added the audiophile PC, then went to the Hilo and implemented 2.2 system: 2 subs + the 804S driven completely by MC275 starting at 80Hz.

Step by step! :-)

Hope this helps!

The problem with buying an all-in-one solution is it’s like buying a SS receiver that has Blu-ray player and VHS player built-in. There are undoubtedly compromises everywhere to meet a price-point.

If you have a MacBook or a Mac Mini, I would highly recommend starting there and adding either USB DAC or Ethernet DAC. IF you add USB DAC, you will need a regenerator like this:
https://sotm-usa.com/collections/sotm-ultra/products/copy-of-tx-usbultra-regenerator-1

If you are using USB, I highly recommend Amarra for playback app. If you are using Ethernet, I recommend Linn Kinsky/minimserver. These are free. Rip CD’s with XLD on Mac and dbpoweramp on PC.

With this hardware and apps, you can rival and even beat the sound of your vinyl, providing you get the right DAC and digital interface. DAC’s to consider:

Empirical Audio Overdrive SX
DaVinci
TotalDAC
Chord Dave
Aqua
Lampizator
Denafrips Terminator
T&A DAC 8

I prefer Ethernet to USB because you can use any computer and very little mucking around is required to achieve outstanding audio quality. You will need a streamer or an Ethernet renderer for this. I use:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=156409.0

Or the same interface inside my Overdrive SX DAC. It’s modular. I can stream using Linn Kazoo, also freeware.

See various good reviews on audiostream, as well as shootouts:
https://www.audiostream.com/content/great-dac/

Their best-bits is usually a good place to start.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

We're using LUMIN for our digital streaming purposes now. Super friendly user interface from the iOS/Android app, and also compatible with third-party apps if you want to use something else.

Could you expand upon what you are looking for by "very flexible"? That could either mean lots of inputs and outputs, or it could mean lots of configuration options, or lots of different features, or compatibility with lots of different streaming services.

One of the most flexible systems we carry is the Devialet Expert Pro line. Mostly because you can program it to change how different inputs and outputs are used, and also can tweak certain things on individual connections like delay and crossover points. It also supports network streaming.