A stupid question for which there's no sensible answer.

Before i learn how to embed my system in a rightful manner acoustically in my room, i was thinking that my dac was not detailed and lack refinement.... Some reviewers had even affirm so in their review despite glowing positive acclaim... I was on the verge of saying that they were right about my dac....


After improving mechanical, electrical, and acoustical settings of my room i completely change my view about my dac and even about my speakers...

Without embeddings controls any upgrade is throwing his money....Except for an evident weakness in the gear for sure...

But how someone can know how to upgrade if he had never listen to his actual system working at his optimal potential S.Q. in the first place?

Try my last creation the Helmholtz-Fibonacci room tuner: 3 sets of brick with holes where you will insert 3 plumber pipes in each three bricks with proportion equal to 1.6 for each 3 pipes, the fibonnacci ratio...Read wikipedia for a definition of the golden ratio... You are probably more crafty with your hands than me, then it will look like a modern sculptures in the room...It can be beautiful.... 

Cost: 3 bricks and 9 discarded copper plumber pipes....the nine pipes are between 5 or 6 inches the shortest and the longest 6 feet or a little more....

I sell creativity, the cost is low.... And the risk more lower.... 😊

You are going to get so many answers your head will spin.  My advise is to first know what type of sound you prefer.  Second is to know why a product/component makes that sound that you prefer.  SS to tube for starters.  Then understand what company makes one of the products that makes the sound you like.  Last understand what makes that product sound the way it does.

One post says R2R tube DAC.  While I agree with that statement since my company makes one, we also have made non-R2R DACs that sound excellent but different.  Which one you prefer, that is the question.  I made a preamp that had 5 different output resistors.  Each resistor has its own sound.  Which one works in your system hell if I know - but with a turn of a dial you can choose what you like or even better for different recordings you can dial in the sound you prefer.  It is like swapping in and out a cable.

I am a source sound person.  I have to have the tone of an instrument first and foremost.  I need to hear the wood of the piano, the decay of the strings, and the emotion.  If the piano does not sound correct to me, then nothing else will.  To me, no other component can do that in my system.

Happy Listening.  

Not necessarily room treatments.  Just getting the right speakers set up right in the room which depends on where you are listening from.  You might not need room treatments to get good sound of you do that right. Can they make things even better once you do?   Of course.  But room treatments is not task 1.  

I can see that I'm coming from a deficit position in terms of comparing and contrasting both systems and individual components.
 I became an audiophile when, 2 years ago, I listened to my brother-in-laws old KEFs with whatever he had driving them. I fell in love and got some 20 year old References, along with a similar level 10 year old ss Musical Fidelity integrated amp. After a while, the speakers started hissing and distorting on certain piano, flute, and voice frequencies, so I went back to the drawing board and found a great deal on ATC 40ASCM V2s. Instant improvement and apparently a good match with my speakers--the UK sound.
But that's it. I've had no other opportunities to listen unless I wanted to stop in to dealers and tempt myself into either spending money I don't have or wasting their time. (I know. Most people don't mind doing this. I do). So I've only heard my system with one DAC -- Audioengine-- one type of cable (inexpensive) and two speakers. I don't know what's the room or what's anything, really. I did figure out a speaker placement problem (with help from another thread) when my new speakers were soundstaging unevenly.
So what is it all supposed to sound like? Which part is making it sound like X, Y, or Z.?
Is my amp warm or neutral? I know some of these conceptually--from reading online--but there's no substitute for literal experience.
This is why I appreciate all the responses I'm getting.

The most important component of a listening system is the listener.