Dirac use while still keeping my DAC?

MINIDSP SHD STUDIO, LIKE I SAID IN MY POST.

OP:

You didn't look at all the products. :)  The SHD Studio model has no DAC, but they can all stream.
https://www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd-series

It looks to me like the minidsp devices are dacs, and would mean I can’t use my current dac, and even my preamp would be not needed.  Do the minidsp devices take in a digital stream, output a “room corrected” digital stream which then goes to my dac?

mahler123, what chain of gear are you using to accomplish this?

Been doing what the OP is considering for about 10 days.  Works great

Indeed, miniDSP offers the SHD Studio, a digital-in, digital-out device that includes Dirac. It could be put between your Auralic (Aries?) G2 and the DAC you have.

You should be aware, most if not all implementations of Dirac resample everything to a fixed sample rate. I believe the SHD uses 96 kHz; not sure how many bits, but I’d suspect at least 32.

My impression is, resampling has gotten better (cleaner) in the last few years than it was before. You could also resample with the Aries G2 to compare the sound you get.

Added later: You could of course do manual EQ with the Aries, which I think has up to 20 bands of user-selectable and transparent DSP. (I have an Aries G1.) That would require using a measurement microphone and something like REW on a laptop. I have done similar things many times, and I find manual EQ a pain. (Others prefer it.)

miniDSP has a number of products that would work for you, including Roon ready streamers.

If you need something less comprehensive, Roon includes DSP capabilities already.