I know this is an old thread, but for anybody who might come across this in 2020, I want to say that I'm a recent Krell Konvert and I think the Vanguard and Connect streamer are mind-blowingly good. I had a wonderful Benchmark DAC3 and very good class D amp and the Krell kombo absolutely krushes them. I paid the same used as the others cost new, and I'm in a different galaxy of clarity, power, bass grip, soundstage depth.