All Benchmark System Question

I would not recommend getting a combined streamer / DAC since if you wish to upgrade one you end up swapping the other. Provided you are serious about your pursuit. I think your current equipment confirms you are. Each component is a critical one to the system.

yes, you would control your streamer with your iPhone through your network. But the streamer itself would communicate through the Ethernet wire to your network. . 

It is always good to have a mix of equipment and speakers for different sounds and moods and just to hear a different presentation sometimes.

Regg
i have the Benchmark amp with the Dac3 and Harbeth SLH5 Anniversary.
Still dialing in the “ perfect” placement but at times I feel the same as you that I want a touch warmer tone/sound.
Detail is amazing, sound floor is dead quiet…
The seller of the Harbeths told me that he had great success with Triod Wire Labs speaker wires… warmer overall. His second choice was the LFD Hybrid wire which is sold by the USHarbeth distributor.
I currently use the Benchmark wires and am thinking hard about getting some Triod wires.
They might be that small adjustment you ( and I) are looking forward.
cheers
Z

Guys like @atmasphere say that if the gear supports the AES48 balanced standard (like Benchmark) different XLR cables should not effect the sound much. I feel that way with the Benchmark gear. I use the BM XLR between the preamp and amp (15 feet). The source to preamp are all Audience AU24SE expensive XLR cables. I had these Audience cables from long ago and compared them with the BM XLR’s. I thought the AU24SE were a little better, though that could be phycological because I spent a ton more money on them.

Speaker wire from the AHB2 to the speakers had a big effect on the sound. I tried 3 different cables and my preferences from most to least.

1) Audience FrontRow (with SpeakON termination)
2) Audience Conductor SE
3) Benchmark speaker cable with SpeakON

BTW - I did test the DAC3B with the headphone amp so that I could eliminate the 15 foot preamp to amp cable from the test

BTW2 - I have a warm sounding SONY SCD-1 SACD player from 20 years ago hooked up to the HPA4. It has never sounded better than today. I did not like it as much on the CODA 07x. Maybe too much warmth.

A mea culpa for me on the CODA 07x preamp making a hiss on my floorstanders (not RAAL SR1a headphones). This was really bugging me and some other folks on WBF were telling me they do not have a hiss. So tonight I removed my D-Sonic amp and put in a single AHB2 with the CODA 07x. The hiss was gone for the most part as was with the HPA4. The HPA4 seemed a tiny bit quieter.

It looks like I should get the CODA #8 amp for my floor standers sooner than later.