Having over 40 years in audio and owning a Audio store for 10 years in Europe I have a ton of experience in every dept
thedac is probably the most important part ,why because every aspect of the music starts there , it’s quality makes or breaks the music for you can’t make up the signal once lost , then loudspeakers , Thst being said even quality cables ,thunk weak links in the audio chain ,there is no shortcuts , $5k-$6k likeDenafrips terminator 2holo springs May dac 2 perfect examples of great digital at a fair price
that being said even $1- $2k like Denafrips less expensive R2R dacs which I like
Bricasti m3 which I bough5 earlier last year use R2R + streamer for $6 k
buy the best you can afford for digital ,and Ethernet cable ,and digital usb or I2S cable counts ,even the Ethernet hub such as uptone audio Etherregen has much good feedback , do a lot of research .