Warming up digital in my setup

If you’re feeding the DAC via USB, then the Laboga Emerald is significantly warm and "analogue" compared to any other I’ve tried.

A more expensive option is the Innuos Phoenix USB - this will bring benefits across the board, as well as taming the treble

I can immediately think of 3 tactics to get rid of the glare:

1. Get pretty much any competently designed R2R DAC--or better yet, a NOS (non-oversampling DAC). This will make a huge difference
2. Get a tube buffer to put in line after the DAC. My NOS DAC (MHDT Labs Orchid) has a built-in tube buffer circuit, which is extremely convenient. After rolling a few recommended tubes in that circuit, I kept the best new old stock tube and am very happy with the sound
3. And unless you're a big fan of MQA or DSD, invest in a good SPDIF converter + coax cable, enabling you to use coax, not USB straight into the new DAC. An upgrade to that is a DDC (digital-to-digital converter), which can also run a coax cable into the DAC.

I'm leaving out confusing details like I2S connections found on some DACs and DDCs.

Regardless--do at least 2 of those things and your entire relationship with digital will change for the better.

Just wanted to report back that I changed up the streamer.  I received the Digione last night and provisioned an RPI4 w/ volumio.  My first impression - I'm astonished that it made such a difference.  In the few tracks I played to test, the almost unlistenable glare is gone.  It's still a ways from the analog detail and warmth that I'm after, but this was a significant step toward that end.  I can't imagine what an upgraded DAC will bring.  

The best part is that its portable - so I also tried it with my Bottlehead Crack w/ (budget) Toneboard DAC.  Bingo -- at the very least much quieter background (in addition to the Digione, improvements could also be attributed to using SPIDF on DAC instead the dual data/power setup that I had via USB).

Overall, I'm impressed to say the least.  I'm going to let this setup burn-in for a while and really listen to it.  Much appreciate the recommendations!

Next upgrade with be to an Orchid MHDT or Border Patrol DAC

@chayro Yeap, thanks for sharing an idea using cardboard drink coasters. Using them on a wood table make sure heat resistant placemats for hot pans or serving dishes to prevent burn marks and heat damage to the solid wood. When drinking hot or cold drinks on your table, try to use drink coasters where possible. Hot drinks can ruin the tabletop finish or leave irreversible heat damage.