@soix the Hermes was also in my list but I forgot to mention it. You are right I definitely prefer AES/EBU to SPDIF. Could you tell me more how the Iris improved your system? In what areas? For my system, since my DAC does not have USB, I believe the quality of the DDC will be vital since it will reclock the input signal. If I go down the DDC route, at a later stage I may slave the DDC to the clock out of the DAC or try a external master clock although I prefer the clock source to be as close as possible to the DAC IC.
@jackd For some reason I have been put off Aularic but I could change my mind. I was interested in the Lumin U2 but is above my budget. Do you feel Aularic competes with Auralic, Innuos and Antipodes?
Another question, in the above configuration what will be more important, the quality of the streamer or the DDC?
I have just seen a used Aurender N10 for a price slightly above my budget so I may consider that too.