I would follow all the advice you are getting with these guys, I have been going round and round for a couple weeks on a streamer that fits my listening tastes and what’s fits in my system. All the advice from this forum made me read, audition, talk a lot with the wife, friends and finally decided on the Nagra streamer. It’s easy to use, no fluff and stuff, I don’t need art work looking back at me from a distance, I have my iPad, a Ethernet cable, a RCA cable and a electric plug in and you are done. It’s small, high quality, easy to integrate into your system and you are not paying for a dac you don’t need, in my case. All the streaming services are built in..
upgrade question regarding DAC and streamer
I want to improve my system's imaging after having carefully placed my speakers and done some room treatment to reduce reflections.
My system includes a McIntosh MA8950 integrated amplifier, Sonus faber Olympica Nova III speakers, a Silent Angel Bonn 8 network switch and its LPU, and an Innuos Zen Mini Mark III with its LPU. I use the Mini with its Sense app to stream Qobuz to the McIntosh's DA2 DAC.
I am considering a DAC+streamer such as the MSB Discrete (with render/streamer add-on, and its separate single LPU) and the dCS Lina (with built-in power supply). My budget is about 15K.
In the future, I will get a separate preamp and amp, perhaps using the MA8950 as the preamp for a while.
The dealer with whom I have a great relationship carries MSB, dCS, and Innuos (their Stream3 may also be a good option when it comes out). Of course, I will listen to the DAC+streamer options with the same/similar integrated amp and speakers at the dealer's.
For the purpose of improving imaging with my system/room/good speaker placement, does upgrading the DAC and streamer make sense, or should I upgrade to separates first? Or something else?