One DAC to Rule it All

I also want to thank everyone for sending in their thoughts. I suppose dipping my toe into the digital realm more than once is considered blasphemy in home audio, but I am getting very enjoyable sound. I am considering the DEQX route as their internal AD/DA are of a higher quality. So even though I am seeking advice, you're all correct in the fact that I just have to try out all these configurations to see for myself. I will experiment and keep everyone apprised.

From my medium technical understanding, the main concern with digital replay is jitter, which is largely a function of timing, followed distantly by sample rates.

A large culprit in jitter is a mismatch or misfit in the clock or something effecting timing, from hardware limitations to design issues to noise from various power sources.

Every truly resolving system I’ve heard had separate, but matched, streamer and ;DAC in a different box with an external or otherwise isolated clock.

Nagra, Lumin, Esoteric would be what I’d be looking at, probably Esoteric for all components.

The only thing I know is that, under certain circumstances, multiple ADC and DAC conversions do not substantially degrade the sound.  I heard a track on a test CD (a Jazz sampler/test signal CD by Chesky Records) that was of a sample of music that had been converted back and forth a hundred times, and the same track that had been converted only once.  I don't think I could reliably tell the difference.  

I don't expect the additional conversion of the OKTO to hurt the sound much, but, then again I don't see how it would help to take a digital signal and convert it to analogue then have an ADC convert it back to digital for processing in the DBX.

That's what I was thinking. Why use the OKTO at all if the DBX can accept an AES/EBU signal from my streamer. That way I will only have one conversion, but I will have to use the 32 bit volume control in my Auralic G1 instead of my Benchmark HP4 preamp. It seems like I will be getting rid of a few pieces of equipment if this works out.

That’s is an interesting question.

the double digital part, I’m guessing could go either way, but I have found for the most part, the simpler the system, the fewer cables, the fewer power supplies the better the sound.

 In the end, your ears will always determine what the best sound is for you.

All the best.