Confusion is a part of audio unless you are pretentious enough to think you know all the answers as some in these forum posts are prone to pontificate🤣
I HIGHLY recommend, before you attempt to digest many of these opinions, purchase and read "The Complete Guide to High-End Audio", 5th edition, Robert Harley. You won't need to read it cover-to-cover unless you want, just refer to areas of interest. I downloaded the kindle version three years ago and still refer to it. He is an expert and well respected by many audiophiles. And he writes well enough for novice or pro.
You may want to search Hans Beekhuyzen's YouTube channel for great info on DACs et.al. He reviews, but does not try to sell. (For e.g., he reviewed several in the Denafrips line, Jay's Audio DAC ladder, the Arcam ST60, Mola Mola, Chord products, and the well respected NAD C658 (which you can simply use the DAC bypassing the preamp as in others). Decide if you want a Roon endpoint when considering your next DAC.
Have fun learning! And welcome to the wonderful world of audio!