Is low cost DAC worth it?

OP,

I’m an old fart as well. Most of us have hearing that is compromised in some manor. But typically it will not take away the enjoyment of better sound, since better reproduced music sounds better in all frequencies. So, just because you may not be able to hear the highest frequencies (for instance) you can still appreciate the richness in the midrange and low frequencies. Also, having good undistorted high frequencies will impact the lower frequencies in a positive way.
 

Also, listening is an acquired skill. My partner has always had better hearing than I (most women do), but I could always hear all sorts of nuances that she could not. Such is the enjoyment of well reproduced music.

@marco1 Have you considered adding a DDC?  In my HeadFi rig I added a Denafrips Iris (bought used) to take advantage of my Musician Pegasus’ (shares some DNA with your Pontus) i2S input and the improvement was not small.  And this was using this $6 0.5 foot HDMI cable from Monoprice.  Anyhoo, FWIW.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13578

@soix  I've thought about it but I'm short real estate in that system and looking to eliminate boxes.  I'm actually thinking about going with something like the Aurender A15.  Now before you pull out the flame thrower, the A15 uses the N200 streamer, a step up from the 150, so the question is what the added DAC brings to the table? Plus the Aurender engineering is really quite good so its not just how good the DAC is, its how good everything works together in one box. I know the combo players do not get a lot of respect here on A'gon, but like I said before, I like to experiment.  I really need to find somewhere to listen to one.

If one is on a tight budget and interested in streaming, the item in the link, is winning favour and converts from individuals using similar devices costing quite a few times more than this one is offered at.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=wiim+pro&adgrpid=146341100320&hvadid=636989752258&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1007160&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14431151773805452424&hvtargid=kwd-1730587281019&hydadcr=26772_2615892&tag=googhydr-21&ref=pd_sl_7rgn0pq0zr_e 

Hook the WiiM Pro up to the DAC as seen in the Link and there is something seemingly quite special to be had for, very very sensible monies parted with.

I hope the OP sees this as a suggestion as a viable option and worthy of their consideration.   

Well, take a cheap cost but well built Emotiva XDA-1 DAC from 2010, it has a discrete audio board (no op-amps), replace the extremely low quality power regulators with 5 Sparkos ($47 apiece), Panasonic power caps, remove the cover and make a plexiglass one and add a Synergistic Research purple fuse (1 amp not to blow) and you've got one $10K+ DAC.  Total parts cost under $1000 plus labor.