A solid Dac choice would be the smart next step. Without knowing exactly what the cirrus chip and output stage of the Marantz may render in tonality and stage characteristics, hard to say exactly what will differ. It 2k for a dac would get you a jump in quality regardless! Cables do matter, and even digital outputs (and even between dac inputs) can differ in terms of results. But overall, something with a good balance of stage, clarity and spaciousness like a r2r dac would be great. Since you’re running tubes, however…delta sigma might be the right offset? Who knows.
so many choices, but if you’re not particularly worried about digital input choices and are looking for something kinda special, for around $1700 the ANK DAC 2.1 Signature might be nice with your setup (tried posting a link but got blocked). I think that’s a kit? More to have it assembled.
That PS audio recommendation would also be really nice with your setup (assuming here). But there are amazing offerings like the Gustard R26, Musician Audio Pegasus II, mentioning these as they are reviewed to hit well about their asking price in terms of tonal balance and performance. But like I said, it doesn’t have to be R2R to be engaging and beautiful, wide and deep while being true to source. I was lucky enough to find a used Okto Research Dac 8 stereo. Most balanced and beautiful dac I’ve ever heard and it’s a very carefully designed ess Sabre implementation.
But good to consider a dac that you can later try with a decent transport since you enjoy the CD format. Yes, there are amazing new all in one’s that can attach an external drive, but I can respect (and prefer) the possibilities with separates.
