I think the performance (Integrated Amp with DAC inside) is about the synergy between the DAC implementation and amplifier section. Although having myself separates (DAC and Integrated Amp), I truly believe this.
Another gear I'm curious to test is the Daniel Hertz system or just the Daniel Hertz Maria Integrated Amps. This is the Mark Levinson' brand and it's a new market approach (proposing a complete system - Amp and Speakers). It's expensive but above some point we know that a step up is not a proportional investment but rather an exponential one (a "lot" more money for a "small" step in quality improvement). It's just a matter of deciding if we want to downsize or not, even if it do not mean spending less 😁 - sometimes less is more.
This is a subject matter and all opinions are right, at least for that person.