Suggested Improvements for Set Up?

"What would I get greater improvement from a DAC or separate power amp?"

Definitely the amp. Your system isn't revealing enough to get the full benefits of what a new DAC will do for your system. I would leave it for last.

The 707s need a lot of power to perform at their best and that will require a separate power amp. Though rated at 150 watts per channel all the channels are drawing off the same power supply. A similarly rated (or more) external power amp will definitely improve the 707s performance.

I think if you went with a good Pre amp/amp combo like Primaluna or Rouge Audio or Vincent Audio (there too many to list) ...the results could be a life changing event.Other than that,Spend the money on a good Oppo universal machine.This machine could be all you need for videos,streaming,Blue rays,Sacd,cd, playback.

Matt M TX

hi, my system [2 ch] changed for the better with 2 subs. i don't think i could go back to one sub. but it is complicated and you didn't state your goals or budget. possibly some polk owner could relate how seperate high power amps changed his system performance. good luck.

I think it depends somewhat on the type of amp you're considering. Based on my similar situation, my DAC made a bigger improvement for me. I had a Marantz receiver driving Sonus Faber Liuto monitors. I bought a separate Emotiva power amp and used the Marantz as the preamp. There was a slight improvement, but not what I was hoping for. I think using a receiver as a preamp can limit the benefits of a separate power amp. However, you're Yamaha is newer and a better model than my Marantz, so it's possible you could get more out of it as a preamp than I did in my system.

I sold the Emotiva, and bought an Arcam rDAC, which made a much bigger difference. And that's an entry level DAC for under $500.

Recently, I decided to get my Marantz completely out of the two-channel chain. I bought a Krell S300i integrated amp, and that's made a huge difference. I only use my receiver for movies now, with the Krell doing it all with music.

I assume you are playing lossless files through AppleTV? If you're still using MP3's, moving to lossless files would be a great way to improve sound quality.