PS Audio Directstream. To my ears, the best DAC under $15k, and — again to my ears — better than the much more expensive dCS Bartok. I’ve owned one for a few years, have upgraded everything in my system at least twice, except this component. In fact, I just bought a second one for a second system. And I can’t count how many times I’ve seen major reviewers cite this DAC as their home reference choice (John Atkinson included). Moreover, it gets better, for free, each time they upgrade the FPGA software, which you download for free (and, you can experiment with the previous software choices, making it 5+ DACs in one box). Buy it with the Bridge option, hard wire it with an ethernet cable, and you’re basically done. All that’s left is deciding between the compatible tablet app, or Roon, and deciding between Qobuz v. Tidal. I’m not in the industry, I’m not affiliated with PS Audio, and I have no stake in your decision. But from one stranger to another, I highly recommend it.
