Solo streamer

Yes, that was exactly what I was saying earlier.

If he sticks with a "not bad but not great" DAC, based on GoldenSound’s evaluation during the N200 evaluation period, he may not hear much difference or improvement due to the DAC’s limitations. Then what is the point?

The OP picked the most affordable DAC ($2k) from the 2017 Stereophile recommended A+ list, then chose a much more expensive streamer ($6.5k) based on some dealer’s personal experience. He did not bother to audition the Innuos streamer, which the majority of audiophiles here recommend, but instead chose to trust a random dealer and made an expensive purchase right away within a couple of hours. I would say this is a decision made in a rush manner.

I suggest stopping the defense of the B. DAC3 being an A+ class DAC based on today’s standards. GoldenSound is a credible reviewer, and his assessment is worth considering. There is no point in going through this experiment when you know the downstream analog component might not keep up with the upstream digital transporter, thereby defeating or invalidating the subsequent evaluation of the new streamer.

In terms of what DAC matches comparably with the N200, there are many options, but in my opinion combining what credible reviewers and you have mentioned, Chord (Dave; $14k), DCS (Lina; $13.5k), Mola Mola ($13.4k), Denafrips (Terminator + 12th; $10.3k), and Weiss (501; $10k) are possible contenders. Before taking on the Holo May ($5.5k) route, consider the Laiv Harmony ($2.7k):

Laiv Harmony DAC Review - Soundnews.

As a rule of thumb, you want to spend 1.5-2 times the money on a DAC compared to the streamer when the price is not a subject, although the cost is understandably never the only criterion justifying the purchase.

@rvpiano 

If you set up a simple Mesh Network, a Mesh access point with ethernet ports can facilitate using wifi to connect to a component that does not support wireless.

@moonwatcher

Just an fyi that I2S is synchronous.

With I2S the clock in the streamer will be the boss clock.

And unlike AES or Spdif, where the clock and data transmissions are multiplexed, with I2S the clock and data lines are separated from each other within the cable.

+1, @jazzman7

@rvpiano,

Mesh network is a better and robust alternative to WiFi. Check out eero mesh network,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZK3D89L?ref=ods_en_vicc_firefly_nrc_ucc

Don’t waste your money, time and efforts on mediocre streamers like iFi Zen Stream, Pro-Ject S2 Ultra Streambox, Primare NP5 Prisma, raspberry Pi.

with respect to streamers, Goldensound recommends the ifi Zen stream ($400), Holo Red ($800), and Pi2 Design Mercury ($600).