Bricasti M1 vs new M3

I have been using a SimAudio 380DSD DAC for the last few years and am happy with it (I preferred it over the Berkeley Alpha Dac 2 at the time of purchase).  But, I've been tempted to upgrade and either a used M1SE or a M3 have been on my list. 

After all of the good comments/reviews on the M3 I just pulled the trigger on an M3 and hope to get it mid-week.  Hopefully it is a step up on my current 380DSD :)   I didn't get the Ethernet streamer but if beats my current DAC (I stream Roon and connect with SPDIF) I'll get the Ethernet option.

I'm also tempted to try the DAC direct to my Pass X250.8.   I tried the Berkeley direct to the Amp years ago and although the sound was extremely clean and transparent, I ended up much preferring having a preamp in the chain (Sim 740P) as the soundstage exploded and everything sounded more like music.   It won't hurt to try direct again though...

The M3 I just purchased was shipped from the factory Mar 2020 and the manual doesn't mention anything about MDx but if I select the version using the Status button it shows MDx 1.01.   Just curious, those that have older M3s, what does the version show?

I didn't realize the Ethernet streaming option was $1500 to add (I had it in my head it was a $1000 for some reason), so you have to factor that into the price of the M3 vs a used M1SE if you find one with the streamer already added.   On the same hand purchasing a used M1SE will add the cost of the MDx upgrade if comparing it with a newer M3.    

So, $5500 new M3 + $1500 Streamer vs ~ $6K (I've seen $5750 to $6250 recently on used sites) for a used M1SE with streamer + $1000 (assume you don't get the intro price) MDx upgrade creates pretty much even cost.   If the M1SE + MDx beats the M3 with MDx then it seems like the better value.

I've never heard the M1SE so I can't say; I'm happy with the M3 performance in my system although I will say it just barely beats my 5 year old SimAudio 380DSD in overall sound quality in my system with my ears.   The 380DSD is a great sounding DAC though and had an MSRP close to the Bricasti has now, but 5 to 6 years ago so maybe that isn't a big surprise it is very competitive.     For my system I definitely think I'm at the point of diminishing returns for a digital source...   

The funny part is my streamer is a Raspberry Pi with SPDIF out feeding a Shunyata Anaconda ZTRON cable (MSRP of 10x the PI system) into the DAC.    Maybe that is where I should spend more money, although I must admit I'm not expecting the $1500 streamer to blow away my Pi system, but I've never heard an expensive streamer so I can't say one way or the other.