Curious to know your streaming and dac set up and the best recommended streamer under $15k

A couple of months ago I also upgraded my previous Hegel HD30 DAC to the Nagra Tube DAC with the Classic PSU to move into a full Nagra system. The PSU is also powering the Nagra Classic Preamp. At this point I’m only using a single Nagra Classic Amp (waiting to add the second to run them in mono in the next years). Up until this week I owned both Lumin T2 and U1. After adding the Tube DAC to the system, I made several extensive A-B comparisons between all the components I had in the streaming path. I am not doing Analog. I have a CD/SACD player (Marantz SA-1) and streamer only. During the tests, the T2 was powered either by a Farad Super3 with upgraded Farad silver DC cable or the Sbooster. All my equipment is connected to the Synergistic Galileo SX Ground Block using the High Definition SX PowerCell Ground Cables and supported by Center Stage 2M footers.
First thing I noticed with the DAC upgrade is that all the previous digital signal processing I was doing for the previous DAC became obsolete - EtherRegen, multiple Mutec re-clockers in series (all synchronized by Mutec REF10 Master Clock) and all using Transparent Reference XL power cords, XL 75-Ohm clock cables and Reference AES/EBU only degraded the sound (ambience, decay and soundstage). All that wonderful gear was removed and sold. I only kept the Synergistic Research Ethernet Switch UEF connecting the Lumin streamer(s), a Lumin L1 and TP-Link Wireless Access Point with Shunyata Omega ethernet cables.
All the above to say that after removing all the “extra” from the system, I tested both T2 and U1 feeding the Tube DAC with Transparent Reference XL BNC, Shunyata Omega AES/EBU, Omega BNC, Omega USB and Dynamique Audio Zenith 2 BNC and Apex AES/EBU.
From all the possible iterations made for almost three months, the best sound I consistently got was using the U1 connected to the Tube DAC with the Dynamique Apex AES/EBU – better than the Shunyata Omega USB. If I used the T2 with the best of my available cables (Omega BNC/USB and Omega Ethernet), it could match the U1 not using the top cables, but when using the best cables with the U1, it performs better than the T2. If I did not have both to compare directly, I would be happy to use the T2, but the U1 can go further beyond it. I do not think the X1 with USB or BNC connection to the Nagra would best the U1 using AES/EBU, but I have not tested that.

I do not use Roon. I have Tidal and Qobuz and Qobuz sounds better to me. Using the Marantz as transport feeding the Nagra also sounds better than the XLR Analog output of the SA-1 going directly to the Nagra Pre.
Hope this helps you.

@kellerjr01 Fantastic information.  Thank you reading and responding.  Sounds like with a little more tinkering I will get there.  Appreciate your time.

@woots if you do end up looking at the Lumin U1, since you wouldn't have need of the X1 DAC, it may also be worth looking at the X1 power supply upgrade for the U1. The outboard U1 power supply is already excellent, but the X1 power supply further improves upon it.

I have another suggestion for penny pinchers, and no, it’s not the troll’s $150 Dac!

It seems someone has developed a new high nickel content transformer already for the PS Audio Directstream MKII. The Dac in its stock form has already been reported to beat out the tambaqui and another Dac around $14k (or maybe it was equal to)

With the $650 dollar transformer upgrade the Dac should be able to comepete with $15-20k dacs. Obviously a Dac with a tube output stage has its own benefits, but the PS unit is only $8k and people like myself who had the MK1 version are getting a very healthy trade in allowance until the end of the month. My MKII should be here next month, and till then I only have access to LP playback.

I’m also an EtherRegen user, but will be going USB with the mkII.

I started with a Lumin X1 and Lumin L1.  Overall nice but wanted more.  Recently added a Weiss 502 Mark 2 (Lumin X1 still used as streamer).  Really elevated sound quality in every respect.  Also, added a Sonore Ethernet to fiber optic and ran the fiber optic cable into the Lumin X1 optical network input.