If you like the sound of your dac, you might try to max out it’s attributes with footers, cables, etc. I found using a Symposium Svelte Shelf and Cardas woodblocks under my dac brought out significantly more of its positive qualities. Same with the CXC, but I used a corian shelf with 4 Vibrapods underneath the shelf, as the CXC has a weird bottom configuration. But if you’re trying to get it to sound as good as your analog, IMO you’re chasing the dragon. And I’m far from a digital hater.
Of course another route is to upgrade the transport and/or dac, but there’s no way to tell unless you listen. You might try one of the better dacs in the 5k range like the Bricasti or Rockna if they offer a home trial. But if you're not saying "holy crap, this is good!" within a couple of days after turning it on, I'd probably send it back. At double the price you should be hearing a huge improvement or it's not worth it.
Of course another route is to upgrade the transport and/or dac, but there’s no way to tell unless you listen. You might try one of the better dacs in the 5k range like the Bricasti or Rockna if they offer a home trial. But if you're not saying "holy crap, this is good!" within a couple of days after turning it on, I'd probably send it back. At double the price you should be hearing a huge improvement or it's not worth it.