@soix
The back-story: several years ago I got rid of my Aqua la Voce S2 because I found the upper mids fatiguing. I’ve been using my Hegel H390’s onboard DAC ever since, thinking I would eventually get back to a standalone DAC. The only barrier was lack of disposable income.
As I liked the Aqua (except for the fatigue) I decided to try two other r2r DACs: Mojo Mystique XSE and LTA Aero, because I could return both. To my great surprise, I preferred the DAC in the Hegel. This wholly unexpected outcome prompted me to ask myself what I was looking for. I realized what I really wanted was basically, "the same tonality, presentation, only better". I can list better resolution, better separation and deeper soundstaging as three specific attributes. The second was achieved by the addition of Synergistic Foundation XL AC cables. At any rate, trying the Hegel D50 seemed a logical next step and this is what I plan to do this week.
I’m still enjoying the speakers. I really have no compelling reason to change this part of the system.