Hi Sunshdw,
Thanks for the response. I am trying toweigh if shifting back to an all in one solution would be an overall upgrade in SQ vs the separate units I have today. With the thought I could, if I wanted to, sell the G1 and the MHDT to help the upgrade. Keeping the 2 separate does provide more flexibility, most who have some experience with the Pagoda lean toward it punching above it’s weight class, that I’d need to spend quite a bit more to really see a jump, assuming I like the sound signature of the Pagoda.
I guess the million dollar question is around synergy - would Auralic or Lumin or others who offer 1 box solutions in the mid to higher tier of their product portfolio offer a synergy streamer / DAC that is really tough to achieve in seperates unless you spend quite a bit more money.
l really liked the Lumin D2 for the price it performed really well, especially with the upgraded power supply. I like the Auralic App slightly better than Lumin and the flexibility of being able to stream Amazon Music / slightly more flexibility on the DSP front. When I did switch to the separates - the Auralic was noticing better feeding other DAC’s than the Lumin but I think the Lumin’s streamer only capabilities were an after thought, only 1 digital out.
Am I placing too much weight on synergy when it comes to streamer / DAC one box solutions? Should I assume a quality streamer paired with a DAC that has the sound signature I like is always ping to trump the 1 box solution or the majority of the time? The Pagoda synergistically is designed to be used balanced, it for sure performs at a noticeably higher standard when used in a balanced system.
Thanks,