@fthompson251, I think that upgrading the streamer is a great long-term investment that will pay off immediately and form a solid foundation for whatever DAC you use now or move to in the future. It took me a while to realize the importance of a high quality streamer, but now I view it as important as the DAC, amplifier, or speakers.
I’d had a few Auralic Aries models (Dual Femto, G1, G2, G2.1) and was very happy with my G2.1 until at some point I visited a friend who had a Taiko Extreme. When we went from the Taiko to the G2.1, the Taiko made the G2.1 sound not just bad—broken! It sounded very digital, strained, processed, unnatural, edgy and grainy, in comparison. It was not a subtle difference in any way. The G2.1 was sold immediately and replaced with an Aurender N20.
When I first plugged the N20 in place of the G2.1, my jaw was on the floor. The sound quality improvement was on par of upgrading the DAC to a model costing several times more. I have to admit that my Auralics all sounded pretty much the same to me, but G2.1 vs N20 was night and day, as were G2.1 vs Taiko. The N20 sounded so effortless and analog that I could not tear myself away from the music. There was no glare or edginess that I could pick up on, and there was no loss of detail. I listened for hours without skipping a single track on my playlist. It all just sounded like music, and not a digital representation. I was totally blown away, and now a firm believer in the importance of streaming.
Fast forward to December, I had the pleasure of meeting Dave/@audiotroy and doing the Aurender shootout he mentioned above. We put a 432 Evo Aeon Mk 2 (which was not even the latest version—the latest is is the Mk 3) against my Aurender N20 in the same setup. Despite the Aeon’s much lower price point ($7,800 vs $12,000,) and to my surprise, I heard what Dave heard—the Aeon came out ahead. It did not make the N20 sound broken—it held its own—but it did make it sound flat and lifeless in comparison. The soundstage on the Aeon, the spatial cues, and the dimensionality were dramatically better. The only thing I think the N20 did a bit better in was the slightly deeper and tighter bass. Overall, however, going from the N20 to the Aeon felt like an upgrade; going the other way felt like a downgrade. I did not miss the slight loss in low end extension when listening to the Aeon. With the N20, however, I did miss the Aeon’s soundstage and imaging.
I am not affiliated with Dave's company, do not get anything from posting this, and am only sharing what is my honest impression of the Aeon. The only reason why I have not sold the N20 is because I also want to hear the Master version of the Evo; once I do, the N20 will be for sale.
Hope this helps!