Does the 'Buck' Start with the DAC?

Does the buck start with the dac ? 
 I’ve never experienced a bigger “all at once jump” in musically performance as I have with a Innuos Zenith 3 and it’s all in one box Phoenix USB regenerator , power supplies and master clock .

Having borrowed a few dacs some beyond my budget like MSB , Chord Dave and Total dacs the all at once leap in musically performance wasn’t near the equal to that of the server and Phoenix component.
Though it’s all important..

Innuos is a great piece of hardware for sure. And PhoenixUSB does help with USB connection. A lot

I’m enjoying this thread.  Interestingly, I posed a related question elsewhere about which might have more impact - server/streamer or DAC.  While I subscribe to the notion that everything makes a difference, I’ve also concluded that, In my experiences, the server/streamer is at least as important and likely the more important determinant of quality sound than the DAC.  

Several users suggest that, because their DACs are known to be relatively immune to jitter, the streamer isn’t particularly important.  I don’t find this to be true.  My DAC also rejects jitter very well, yet the differences in sound between a variety of servers is pretty easy to hear.  So, I might suggest they audition better servers to see if it improves their results - if they’re so included in that pursuit.

My $.02
mgrif

Just plugged in my SOtM SMS 200 Neo (~ 600 CAD).  Suffice to phenomenal gains !

TLDR: 20k system will realize very strong gains from using a hifi streamer vs basic computer.  

For background - my system is worth about ~ 20k:
- Basic Computer
- SU-1 KTE
- Rockna Wavedream SE DAC
- LTA MicroZOTL pre
- Pass XA25
- Tannoy Eaton
- Audio Sensibility Statement cables throughout

I shied away from a streamer just because I use this computer for everything and as a TV, so I didn't want to have 3 remotes switching back and forth (basically 1st world problems).

I decided to start small on the streamer (replacing the basic computer) - hence the SOtM purchase.  

Unreal.  The refinement in sound stage, imaging, low level detail and bass is quite astounding.  Everything you would expect a better digital signal to produce. 

For reference - the gains realized are larger than going from a Yggy to the Rockna, and bigger than moving from the FW F7 to a Pass XA25 (from a detail perspective, although this is more subjective - I still really enjoy the F7).

As next steps - I will be looking at bringing in a Sonore OpticalModule, and linear power supplies.  Ultimately moving to an end game streamer in the 4-5k range over the next couple years.  

What you are describing @ag3 is exactly what people experience when switching from a general purpose computer (i.e. work or home laptop) to a dedicated, audio purpose built streamer. It's indeed eye popping! I was there a few years ago, and never looked back.

Unfortunately, there are still many people streaming from their laptop, simply because they refuse to try anything else. After all, zeroes and ones....if there is sounds, it works.... either it works, or it doesn't ....