Digital Path to Complete my System

Would appreciate experienced feedback for those with a complete digital chain ( streamer, DAC, clock?, & cables/interconnects) - total package under $18K...

Aavik S-180 streamer: $7200

Aavik D-180 DAC: $7200

Total = $ 14,400

Balance: $3600 for AXXESS ethernet, digital and analog IC cables

I am a little bit into the weeds here... My digital knowledge/background is - how do you say ...less than zero. Speak to me as you "would a young child ...or a Golden Retriever". Digital path...ethernet - streamer - Dac/clock - to my preamp...is this correct??? The clock portion – I am at a loss…??? My experience/purchases with used or "b" stock has not been positive; prefer new with a great warranty & exceptional customer service. Several of the paths mentioned have good/great reviews. I am retired and have put this money aside to finalize my system...it is a lot of $$ for me personally, but will match/complete my system. I will travel to hear the system and make comparisons. To simplify... a one box/complete system or separates? The price point is a stretch...so want do it right...don’t want to hassle with upgrading. I will be mostly streaming but use my CD player about 20 % of the time...open to ripping my 2000+ CD collection into a data bank....pros/cons of this...I have no idea? I have come to embrace the simplicity of the streaming path,,,simple, easy, choice at the push of a button. Looking at different options - can not believe some of the cost/price points...wow?? Looking at a quality streamer, a great/exceptional (very exceptional) DAC/clock, interconnects/cables that match, easy user interface, reliable, well-made/designed, reliable warranty, great customer service, on-line upgrades, and most important musical equivalent to my analog side.... Am I asking alot????

Step a) Get a high quality drive for ripping all your CDs such as the Pioneer unit below. Install it on your PC and use it to rip all your cds. Don’t use some crappy drive to rip the CDs.

Step b) Set up a NAS (Network Attached Storage) for your house. You can put all your ripped cd files into such a NAS. The streamer will stream all your files contained in your NAS and your NAS can be physically sitting in any room of the house.

You can also buy HIRES official studio masters (digital albums i.e. digital files) and put it on your NAS for permanent ownership (like you had permanent ownership of your cds) i.e. In this case, you won’t be renting your music through streaming services like tidal, qobuz, etc on a monthly basis. You can however use such services to discover new music. If there’s a album you like, you can buy the hires album from qobuz (even a official studio master) for 10 bucks or so and support the artist better.

Streaming such files/studio masters from your NAS is the highest fidelity you can obtain.

The streamers i mentioned in earlier comment will also do your rental services like tidal, qobuz, etc...which is what most guys do (the easier thing.. get rental access to millions of albums...buy and forget).

P.S. Why are you worrying about "clocks"?! The clock’s inside your DAC and a good dac will have a good clock...don’t worry about clocks and never use any external clocks (that some guys may try to sell you).

After hearing a Visitors brought along recently released to the Market CDT > DAC in their own system, as well as the CDT > System owners DAC, has now as good as abandoned the Streaming Source as the main Source and replaced it with CD as the Source.

The 24bit Hires studio master is the highest quality medium available, when available. Streaming it from a NAS is a surefire guarantee and it beats out redbook cds and cd transports. The only exception is sacd or bluray audio, which are both fidelity competitors, i suppose. However, very few artists still offer you a sacd or bluray.

I simply can’t comprehend why anyone would botch that pristine studio master, put it on a redbook cd or viny and pay more for the latter ...(Some odd form of medium loyalty, i suppose).

Further, buying that hires studio master provides permanent ownership and supports the artist (instead of renting it on tidal, qobuz). Qobuz, for example, will sell you the official hires studio masters for less than 10 bucks a piece, when you have the sublime subscription (~15 dollars/month). That would be ~1/2 the cost of a botched redbook cd or 1/4th to 1/6th the cost or more of botched vinyl. The highest quality medium can be purchased for a lower cost than the botched mediums because there is no material/fab cost associated with the former (it is just a file).

If one is perceiving that the redbook CD from a cd transport is sounding better, there is something wrong with the execution of his hires digital chain.