Auralic Aries G1 Streamer / MHDT Pagoda Balanced DAC - is a Lumin T3 an upgrade?

I tried the Lumin before I bought the Auralic, very unimpressed with the sound and the app was horrid. Since you like the Auralic sound why not go to the Aries G2.1?

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,

@mm1tt77 

The only way to answer your questions, with any certainty, is to actually try it and see if it's the sound you're looking for. 

Otherwise you're just going to get a lot of opinions in the hopes that someone has been down this path and has a similar taste in the sound signature.