It looks like either you are a tinkerer or have plenty of resources to pay others to tinker with your purchases- meaning never quite happy. I say that without any hint of criticism.
If you are financially able and enjoy buying, trying, and selling- the world is your oyster. In that spot I would buy higher end mainly because streaming is going to be a different experience than the analog you are accustomed to.
I like to tinker as well, so I went with a Raspberry Pi and attached Dac hat. Inexpensive, under $150 total, for streamer and dac, I enjoyed the process, and I now have a baseline for future comparison. I also was not coming from vinyl.
Truthfully, right now I have zero motivation to upgrade. Some songs, such as some older Daryl Hall I listened to this week, sound not so great. They may as well on a CD or other format. But others sound really good. Most of my equipment is older- it was mid high end and I tweaked it continuously. Finally it was good enough for my hearing ability. I absolutely love the access to an infinite variety of music.
If you are financially able and enjoy buying, trying, and selling- the world is your oyster. In that spot I would buy higher end mainly because streaming is going to be a different experience than the analog you are accustomed to.
I like to tinker as well, so I went with a Raspberry Pi and attached Dac hat. Inexpensive, under $150 total, for streamer and dac, I enjoyed the process, and I now have a baseline for future comparison. I also was not coming from vinyl.
Truthfully, right now I have zero motivation to upgrade. Some songs, such as some older Daryl Hall I listened to this week, sound not so great. They may as well on a CD or other format. But others sound really good. Most of my equipment is older- it was mid high end and I tweaked it continuously. Finally it was good enough for my hearing ability. I absolutely love the access to an infinite variety of music.