McIntosh C52 to C53?

I wouldn’t spend money on the C53 just for the DA2 module.  You’d get better mileage out of spending that money on a separate DAC.  Keep the N10 and C52 and buy a DAC.  You could get an outstanding one for the price of a C53.

I have the DA1 in my MA8900 which I can upgrade to the DA2 module.  It is a nice option but I decided to buy a Denafrips Pontus II and a Hermes DDC.  It is much better than the DA1, but I don’t know if, or by how much it betters the DA2.  If I had to guess, it’s likely better and for not much more money.  Before the Denafrips setup I had a HiFi Rose 250a with, I believe, the same chip that the DA2 has.  My Denafrips setup is better than the Rose even with using a MacBook Pro as my source.  My thinking is that while being able to upgrade the preamp is nice, if you spent that money on an external DAC it would likely take several iterations of upgrades to the C53 to equal what you can get from an external DAC at the price of the C53.  The point I’m trying to make is that it might cost you several thousands more in successive upgrades and that’s assuming McIntosh comes out with a DA3 module.  I will say that I considered the DA2 upgrade but the idea of boxing up and lugging the 90 pound boxed integrated to the dealer to have it installed weighed heavily against it.