Looking for high end individual streamer & individual dac to work in tandem.

+1 on the Supra ethernet cable recommendation. It’s a no brainer. Would have to spend significantly more to get something better, and it might just be different, not better.

The Sonnet Morpheus (DAC) + Hermes (streamer) combo may be worth an audition. Noise-reducing i2s connection between the two. I believe Audio Art is running them as a discounted package deal right now (no affiliation).

Personally, I did not care for the Qutest. Found it cold and overly crisp in a way that (add the usual qualifiers: in my system at the time, in my room, to my ears) seemed a little robotic. Like R2-D2 was trying to serenade me.

Important point above re: considering local rip quality vs. streaming quality. On my previous Naim set-up, there was quite a gap (even with Ethernet filter) between streaming via Qobuz/Tidal vs. local files. To the point where I only used the streaming services for music discovery, and could only listen to local rips for long-term listening.

In my current setup, the gap is almost non-existent. Maybe slightly more air from a local rip if I do an A/B and, but I have to strain to hear it -- it's insignificant. I still use local rips because I want to support my favorite artists, particularly young up and comers on Bandcamp, who are paid peanuts from the streaming services.