Another vote for separate DAC and leave everything else as is until you’re ready to step up to Aurender N150 or N200. I see DA2 upgrade in C53 as sheer convenience and not a day and night SQ upgrade.
McIntosh C52 to C53?
I recently posted a discussion on the weak link in my system:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/is-my-mcintosh-c52-pre-amp-the-weak-link
The general consensus of opinion was; the DAC in my McIntosh C52 pre-amp/DAC. So what do I do, upgrade the Aurender N10 streamer to an A20 (streamer with built in DAC), use a stand alone DAC or something else? Based on reviews I am hearing great things about the new DAC (DA2) used in the C53 pre-amp/DAC. Anyone upgraded from a C52 to C53 and noticed a significant improvement in DAC SQ?