For those that have separate Streamers & DACS

I have a 10th gen i7 NUC and iFi Zen with their top power supply..which is still a switching supply (worth the expense). I will be eliminating the NUC’s fan. This feeds a McIntosh MA12000. If I put more money into this chain it will be to upgrade the D/A. I’m not convinced that more invested in the NUC will provide better sound. Upgrade the iFi maybe.

I prefer a separate server and DAC, compared to a combo server. I am using an Aurender N-100 and a Lampizator Atlantic DAC and am pleased with the overall sound.  I will say the HiFi Rose looks very interesting and my be something to look at down the road. 

After trying many combination streamer/DACs and spending thousands of dollars I have been a very happy Musica Pristina A Capella III owner for a year now.
This streamer has been Roon Ready for many years and in fact was designed as a Roon endpoint from the beginning.
The A Capella III provides my preferred output, I2S, and is hands down audibly better than anything I’ve owned (even at twice the cost).
Made in US, with direct support by the Designer, this streamer is excellent.
Kevin happily offers an in home trial, and rarely ever gets a returned unit.
Check out the A Capella III.

Antipodes K50 mixed with either Nagra or Audio Note UK DACs are brutal good combos.

😉 the music.

Cheers

@lalitk @ghdprentice @sns @lordmelton @verdantaudio 

and others on this thread. This thread has been SO helpful in helping me narrow my choices. Just reading through this thread clarified so much for me .Bravo, you have really kept a great discussion moving forward. So...I just purchased an N20!

Many thanks to all of you for this great read.

Bruce