@coachpoconnor , HA! Yes, the Node was my gateway into quality streaming. It's not hard to best it, and it can mate well with a bona fide stand alone DAC. I built an Intel NUC Roon Rock endpoint--just followed Roon's directions. And it was a huge step up feeding the same DAC that the Node did.
Your comments on the SIT-3 are exactly what I was looking to hear. I may give that a try.
I will say the Marantz Ruby integrated is wonderful sounding. The presentation is really nice and it has good 3D soundstage. I'm just very curious to play with SS amps now as I've had a good 5-6 tube amps in here with the CWall IVs.