upgrade DAC/Amp for Peachtree Decco65?

Very good questions, also something I should have added in the first post. I'm using some Epos ELS3 speakers, I also use a pair of Sennheiser HD650's for listening. These speakers are in a pretty small room. The majority of the room is covered by my desk/system (imagine dorm room sized).

They are about 3 feet from the wall, with the left side being in the corner and the other speaker being near the door.

How do you like the Grand Integrated X-1? It looks amazing from what I've read/heard.

I'm a big fan of the Grant Integrated X-1, it allowed me to build a really sweet system with very few components...computer to Grand X-1 to speakers, nothing else needed. It has tons of power, I like the Sabre dac, and the X-1 is built like an army tank. Best of all, Peachtree's USB implementation in the X-1 is really well done - I get nice sound out of the USB connection.

My room is a lot like yours, very small, 10x11, so we're dealing with similar challenges.

Your ELS3 are fine speakers from what I've read, though I've never had the pleasure to listen to them. Honestly, in a room as small as yours the real obstacle is speaker placement and taming reflections. Not that you shouldn't strive for whatever transparency you hope to get, but chasing it via an amp upgrade in your price range may not yield worthwhile results. Do you love your speakers? If not, I can imagine finding something on the used market for $500-800 that may prove an upgrade. My personal strategy has always been to focus on the speakers first - make sure you love those before looking at anything else.

That is exactly why I like my Decco65, the convenience of having it all in one place. The only reason why I'm striving for separates now is because its kind of a pain to listen to my Schiit Valhalla using the preout found on the Peachtree (have to disconnect the speakers/sub, etc.)

Your suggestions are very good and its given me some insight as to what I should be focusing on to achieve my sound goals. I think I'll just shop for a DAC for my Valhalla separately, and try to upgrade my stereo system by replacing the speakers.

From what I understand the Epos are quite a head of anything else in their price range. So I guess i'm wondering what would be the next "bang for your buck" upgrade. I do love my Epos, but I'm very skeptical of getting different speakers now.

I've read on the Dali Zensor 1's, and they look promising. Do you have any suggestions for a tiny bookshelf that could help me achieve my sound goals? (emphasis on help, not achieve)

My budget for speakers would probably be around 400-500 in the near future. I barley started my new job, and as a college student its sometimes hard to save up for audio equipment, hah. I'm used to buying equipment at a very low price, and selling for more, then upgrading. With the EPOS I'll be able to draw $140 at most, which might make it a little bit more difficult to aim for something better.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I'm hoping I'll be able to find a worthwhile bookshelf that will help me move up in the audio chain.

It's hard to make recommendations because I have never heard those EPOS speakers so I don't know, with my own ears, what they do well and what they lack.

There's been a lot of positive talk about new speakers from Elac, the Debut line, designed by Andrew Jones. They'll be in your price range, and there seems to be a lot of excitement about them. I think they're due later this year - definitely worth some homework.