I cannot comment on the Chord unit you mentioned. But I am an Oppo 105 owner, also with an analog rig costing several times the Oppo. So I have gone through the process you are anticipating. A separate DAC that will far outperform the one in the Oppo should be very easy to find.
Based on my experience I can tell you that with reasonable expenditure, certainly far less than you spent on your analog, you can now achieve digital that will be "as good" as your anlog in tone, detail, focus and soundstage. I say "as good" because I now find that which is better will depend on the software. I have compared many LPs directly to the same recordings on CDs and SACDs. Some of the best sounding CDs, not to mention SACDs derive from analog recordings.
To achieve this, IMO, besides getting a very good DAC, you will want to rip your CDs and your SACDs (using your Oppo). Playing silver disks does not yield the best SQ. My Oppo now is used only to play videos and for SACD ripping. All music is on a hard disk fed to a DAC via USB. A pleasant bonus is that I can control it all from my phone.
Just my $.02.
.
Based on my experience I can tell you that with reasonable expenditure, certainly far less than you spent on your analog, you can now achieve digital that will be "as good" as your anlog in tone, detail, focus and soundstage. I say "as good" because I now find that which is better will depend on the software. I have compared many LPs directly to the same recordings on CDs and SACDs. Some of the best sounding CDs, not to mention SACDs derive from analog recordings.
To achieve this, IMO, besides getting a very good DAC, you will want to rip your CDs and your SACDs (using your Oppo). Playing silver disks does not yield the best SQ. My Oppo now is used only to play videos and for SACD ripping. All music is on a hard disk fed to a DAC via USB. A pleasant bonus is that I can control it all from my phone.
Just my $.02.
.