New DAC or New Streamer or New Streamer/DAC

I faced a similar decision last week and decided to purchase a Roon Nucleus (primarily for the Roon user interface), a Lumin U1, and a PS Audio DirectStream DAC. Now I’m (im)patiently waiting for FedEx to deliver the goods!

Depends on your budget of course, but at a similar price point to the Terminator, I can highly recommend Primaluna’s brand new EVO 100 DAC.

I took the plunge, and straight out of the box, it is a H U G E improvement over a modded Lampizator Amber 2, which is/was no slouch.

It compares favorably to DAC’s three times it’s intro price.

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/primaluna-evo-100-tube-dac/

All the Aurilic stuff sounds overly digital - I had much better experience using my Roon Nucleus to feed my DAC. I also can't fathom adding tube noise to a DAC! I'm pretty sure my Ayre Codex sounds better at $1100 lower cost.

I have extensive experience with Lumin having owned the A-1 and now the X-1.  First off, the app is simple, easy to use and saves you money because you won't need Roon or JRiver.  Second, I had an Emm Lab DAC 2xV2 hooked up to it also.  I ended up selling the Emm Lab Dac.  It was not needed as my sound from the Lumin is just real.  I love Lumin.  I love the sound.  I love the simplicity.

Check out Innous music servers. I’ve heard the 2.5k Zenith. It’s great. Can only imagine the high end Statement sounds like. Great build and sound quality from Poland.