Digital Path to Complete my System

My analog side of my system...McIntosh 12000 integrated (tube preamp with ss amp), McIntosh MCD 600 SACD player, VPI classic signature tt - fatboy arm & shyla cartridge, PS audio phono preamp, nakamichi dragon cassette deck, La Scala AL5 speakers, Tributaries cables & interconnects, and then the Blue-node to stream. My desktop/den system is a Hegel 190 integrated with Kef LS50meta.

Again - want a digital path to complete my main system....just hesitant to dive in as the digital side seems to change so quickly...and I have no experience. I like the idea of ripping my CDs to a databank as suggested. Don’t want to fuse (too much) or "refine" the digital path down the road. I like where my where my analog system is...except for the possibility of trying/upgrading the phonostage...the never-ending rabbit hole.  Not to go into the politics of analog vs digital...I enjoy the "act" of placing a record on the platter...diving into the $5 dollar used record bin for albums of my youth I still do not own, and even cleaning/prepping the LP before the needle drops. That said - I am looking forward to putting together & completing a digital path/side. Surprised how good the little Blue node is for the pricepoint what it brings to the table = so much at a push of a button.

Appreciate everyone’s insight,

JR

After hearing a Visitors brought along recently released to the Market CDT > DAC in their own system, as well as the CDT > System owners DAC, has now as good as abandoned the Streaming Source as the main Source and replaced it with CD as the Source.

The 24bit Hires studio master is the highest quality medium available, when available. Streaming it from a NAS is a surefire guarantee and it beats out redbook cds and cd transports. The only exception is sacd or bluray audio, which are both fidelity competitors, i suppose. However, very few artists still offer you a sacd or bluray.

I simply can’t comprehend why anyone would botch that pristine studio master, put it on a redbook cd or viny and pay more for the latter ...(Some odd form of medium loyalty, i suppose).

Further, buying that hires studio master provides permanent ownership and supports the artist (instead of renting it on tidal, qobuz). Qobuz, for example, will sell you the official hires studio masters for less than 10 bucks a piece, when you have the sublime subscription (~15 dollars/month). That would be ~1/2 the cost of a botched redbook cd or 1/4th to 1/6th the cost or more of botched vinyl. The highest quality medium can be purchased for a lower cost than the botched mediums because there is no material/fab cost associated with the former (it is just a file).

If one is perceiving that the redbook CD from a cd transport is sounding better, there is something wrong with the execution of his hires digital chain.

@deep_333 Once more an individual touting the idea a Particular Source Material is ubiquitous in how all who experience the should accept it.

Individuals are Individuals - Their Preferences are their preferences - What is ones attraction is another's repellent.

Your claim that " The 24bit Hires studio master is the highest quality medium available, when available ". Is in no way a recommendation that will have all who encounter it used as Source Material, will want to continue listening to it in place of of other familiar Source Mediums.      

A lot to unpack here.  For example, do you want to have your CD collection on a NAS connected to your network, with separate streamer and DAC?  Or do you want to have an all-in-one solution; these tend to be pricey, however, and then you’re stuck with their choice of DAC forever.  

Do you want to separate the software side of the equation by running Roon on your server?  That’s what I do.  If you’re interested in Roon, but want to get some experience of its efficacy (vs.Bluesound for example), you could load it up on your computer for a free trial and use its software while using the bluesound hardware as your streamer/dac; bluesound is roon ready.  If you like it, you can then focus your attention on the streamer and dac choices without paying up for somebody else’s proprietary software (e.g., Aurender, Innuos, etc.).

But $18k for your digital side is a hefty budget - in my experience, you can get closer to SOTA performance for less $ on digital vs analog.  Regardless, there are some on this forum whose beliefs/experiences suggest that you need to spend a material portion of your budget - relative to the DAC - on the streamer; you’ve already heard from several of them.  There are others, like me, whose beliefs/experiences suggest that if you spend more than a relatively small amount of $ (i.e., <$2,000) on a streamer, you may be spending your money on features that have little to do with sound quality.  And I agree with @deep_333 re reclocking as unnecessary (unless your streamer and dac combo has a jitter problem, which is highly unlikely anywhere near your budget).

Bottom line: IMHO, the DAC is far and away your most important decision.  At your budget, I’d listen to as many choices as I could in a relatively controlled environment.  Only then would I worry about server/streamer options.  

btw, here’s a little “how to” from a few years ago.  Concepts are still relevant:

how to stream