Thank you for your replies. Goal is:
Streamer/pre-amp (coax-out) > miniDSP nanoDIGI (2x coax-out) > 2x Topping E30 DACs (RCA-out) > ATI multi-ch amp > LXmini speakers
The point of this is to
- Eliminate multiple AD/DA conversions as possible (system above has only one DA conversion
- Keep signal in digital domain as long as possible (for digital sources)
- Improve DAC SQ (currently, the final DAC is built-in on miniDSP4x10HD), which I have been told is inferior (muddy sound)
Other sources that need to input to streamer/pre are:
- Phono with the following output capabilities: phono-level RCA, line-level RCA, USB
- Multi-disc player: HDMI-out needs to connect to TV, coax is only remaining output
Streamer needs to provide pre-amp functions. However, it doesn't need to be only a streamer - it could be a streamer/integrated or any other configuration of integrated units... as long as it has coax out. The only streamer/integrated I can find that meets all requirements is NAD M32 w/BluOS MDC module.
However, I have to believe there are other AmazonHD-capable device that will also have coax in and out, act as pre-amp for other inputs, and control volume. I just don't know what they are.
I currently have NAD C388 with BluOS2i, and it has everything except coax output. So, I've been using its RCA out to input of miniDSP4x10HD, to ATI multi-ch amp. Although this actually sounds great, I'm looking for improvement (aren't we all), especially in the AD/DA conversions and DAC performance.