Adding a Dac and Stresmer

@silverfoxvtx1800 

Reading through the reply I noticed one from you that stood out and will have a huge impact in your choice. “Thanks a lot for all the suggestions, I spend about 8 hrs a day with my music so this is very important…”. You need to focus on a combo the will not cause listener fatigue, that sharp edge digital sound that makes you want to walk away after an hour or two. This points me to narrow your options to r2r dac. I can tell you from other discussions that you should look at Gustard R26. I have this with fmc and external clock and I can listen for hours and have to pry myself away. Many have compared to many Denafrips dac’s and almost all preferred the Gustard. This is not an easy choice and it took me over a year to pull the trigger on the R26 and I have zero regret! Enjoy the music!

I will throw out another option which probably is not what you are after but might consider. The Naim Uniti Atom HE which is a preamp/DAC/streamer that is really outstanding. Great reviews, great PRAT. The preamp is class A.  If you purchased your PrimaLuna gear from Upscale Audio, you might visit with them whether this is a step backwards in your system, or whether they would allow a home trial.  I realize that this is out in left field, but if you like it, you could come out ahead by selling off the PrimaLuna preamp. I have not heard an r2r DAC, but seriously thought about trying a Denafrips or Holo Springs. I use this in a den system as I wanted fewer boxes, and have not been disappointed in the slightest. You do not seem averse to more boxes, and will likely come out ahead with another 1-2 and your budget.  Just trying to keep the discussion lively haha. 

I sorta went down that road at first. Not knowing what I was doing, jumped into the deep end before learning to swim. I have the Uniti Atom the model that takes speakers, I put it on the PrimaLuna EVO 400 amplifier, it’s just ok, also put it on the PrimaLuna PRE and amp, it’s pretty good. I have another place to put the Atom so I am getting something else..I really don’t like having two volume controls…one on Atom and one on the app,sometimes the app volume control didn’t match and it can get loud when you first power it up..the volume control is better with the preamp…anyway it’s going to my wife’s craft room..

Upscales advice is the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Dac and the Cambridge Streaming unit…I am undecided on that route, I even know where I can get that Dac it’s a store demo at a dealer for $800 of the list price..one thing I know I going to up my budget to $7 or 8…which is fine if I can figure this out without making a mistake…another deal is the Klipsch Forte IVs, The Atom sounds a little bright with it, they are very detailed and can get bright with the wrong set up…get it right and it’s heaven…

I have a good friend who has a Metrum Acoustics Pavane and Metrum Ambre streamer..I am thinking about…

Everyone is giving awesome ideas…

@silverfoxvtx1800  Airplay means you are pushing that signal into your system.

With a dedicated streamer and DAC or a streamer/DAC you will use yr. Phone or IPad to have the streamer put out a far better sound