Aurender N20 or A15

Im a firm believer in the source down philosophy . Meaning the source is the most important component, then the cables from the source, then your preamp/amp etc

ive put a 20k streamer through 3k cables to a $2000 Yamaha integrated with fantastic results.

+1, @oddiofyl

I have been using Conductor for so long, it is easy to overlook or re-iterate some of its brilliant features. Above all, zero impact to sound quality of digital bits, it delivers the sound bits unmolested. 

Track fade in and out is one of best features ever ,   there is also a 0-5 second delay if your DAC makes any noise when acquiring the signal or when it switches formats

That feature also is of great benefit to me, as my DAC does this depending on format and source.  Completely eliminated with a 3 sec delay before it outputs a signal.  

Thanks @oddiofyl I don't mean to start a discussion of Roon vs Conductor, but there are some simple things about Conductor that I am looking forward to - namely rock-solid stability and paused tracks fading out and then back in when un-paused.

I love my N200.   Aurender did a recent firmware that added even more virtual stations via "V-Tuner"    They are constantly refining them through software,  their support is excellent overall.   

The N200 is a great unit.  Even though its worthy of more I'm sure it will sound fine with the Mac DAC.  Plus I don't think you could have found a better reason to spend even more money, lol.

@mhwilliford 

I agree, N200 makes a wise investment if you plan on auditioning high quality DAC’s. Also try DAC’s with VC so you can A/B with and without C2700 in your system.  Good luck! 

Thanks everyone.  I think I am going to buy an N200 and connect it to the DA2 via coax for the short term, and audition more DACs (PSA DSD MkII, T&A DAC 200, Aqua) in the longer term.  Should I later find that the DAC has now exceeded the source then I will look at trading-up to the N20.  The digital playback realm is a microcosm of our insane hobby is it not?

Not that familiar with the DAC your using but as mentioned before the N150 is probably all you need.  I have both the N150 and N200.  Used with a less resolving DAC I'm not hearing much difference between the 150 and 200.

I love my Holo May DAC KTE, but the new PS Audio’s designer is the real deal and the unit comes with a 30 day trial and all PS Audio gear in this category go on sale once per year.

Some more background:

Update.  I auditioned a Weiss 502 for about a month.  Very fine piece of equipment that was quite frankly built better (not as flashy, but better connections and knob feel) than my McIntosh C2700 pre-amp.  I fully expected to find that the Weiss was audibly better than the C2700's DA2.  Using Roon, and setting up a zone with both the Weiss connected via ethernet and the DA2 to my PC via USB, I was able to easily accommodate A/B comparison, and then a double-blind test.  My son (who is a musician) and I both took the test and really could not tell the difference.  The rest of my system is an MC 462 and B&W 802 D4s, so you'd think it would be resolving enough to tell the tale.  The sound really is quite good, but now I am back to looking at the source because thinking about it some more, maybe that's my first constraint as my PC is in no way optimized for sound, though I do use an AQ Coffee USB cable.  So now I am back to N20 or N200 to be sure my source is as good as I can practically afford, and then try another DAC (based on another technology - maybe a PSAudio DSD MkII or the T+A DAC 200 or Holo May or second-hand dCS Bartok).  Thoughts?  Thanks All.  -Mark

What @lalitk said.  The DAC 2 might be a competitive $1500 DAC.  I believe that looking to get the most out of an Aurender requires a great DAC and attention to all cabling.  I started with the MA12000 with the intention of of upgrading my iFi Zen Stream.  I soon realized all component were critical to the most out of the streamer.  The Aurender was only part of the expense.

Personally, I wouldn’t get N20 unless you’re planning to pair it a better DAC. With DA2 as your DAC, save your money and get N150. 

If it matters I have the A10 and also a C2700 and if i was honest the C2700's Dac2 is as good if not more detailed then the A10's internal DAC. I'm not sure if the newer ones are better but I find the A10 to be rather boring using the internal DAC. I'd suggest looking at the ones that do not have a DAC and save your self the money. you can always upgrade your DAC later. 

If i was really honest I'd say the A10 as a streamer is ok but not any better then my prior optimized PC based streamer, but defiantly better then the Roon Nucleus I had as well. 

If money is not in short supply, take the N20. Otherwise look at the N200 it has USB and COAX outputs.

If you take the N20 you can use the McDAC and upgrade later and also add a Master Clock during the meantime.