Upgrading my streaming/digital system- what would make the most sense?

I have spent 3-4 years experimenting , Fiberoptic sucks some life out of the music 

these are keys buy a modem- router combo ,I bought the latest Motorola 8702 that has docsis 3.1 especially if you have separates 

get rid of the wall wart crap power supplies ,put in linear power supplies 

to the router you want something decent minimal  little green computer$299  look on bottom of router ,voltages normally 12v -4 amp 

the best one use by far is the Linear  Tube Audio LPS $750 and comes witha great DC cable that goes to the router ,others charge $150 for included$750

then buy a good Ethernet hub which I found for $600 which is very good 

and Quality Ethernet cables, and usb cables a must ,Dac is the most crucial being the sourse. And makes a big difference then a server,streamer like a innuos 

or something similar. Good digital ,like good analog cost $$ imo $10 k minimum 

I'm in the camp that the DAC is the heard of your system and you get the most bang from the buck there. 

  I'd put your core on a NUC, install ROCK and let that stand alone.  

Then spend big money upgrading your DAC.  I personally highly recommend chord DAVE and also the Chord Mscaler. But there are lots of other great DACS out there when you are willing to spend 5 digits.

Jerry

Everyone is giving you their personal experience here, but you have to wonder how many ran controlled experiments, changing just one variable at a time, listening to the same set of test tracks that cover most/all important aspects of sound quality.

I also assumed a better DAC would make the most impact, but after running about 5 DACs and 5 server/streamers through my system, I found the server/streamer made the most difference.  I ended up with a Grimm Audio MU1.  The Grimm performs a lot of functions to clean up the analog wave that carries the digital signal, so the router and switch quality became much less important.

For the DAC, I finally picked a Chord Dave, which I was able to pick up used.  The Grimm includes the equivalent of an M-Scaler, so you don’t need that.

Think of the server/streamer as the turntable and cartridge and that helps the process.

@dougthebiker I have an Innuos Zenith MK3 but you've got me reading up on the MU1. I too have the DAVE.   If I sold my Innuos and M-scaler, it would almost fund the Grimm.  What $5k streamers did you compare the Grimm to?

  I could also offload my NUC core which would clean up my rack.  

Jerry

The closest contender was the Innuos Pulsar.  Also tried the T+A MA 200 which was a bit edgy in the treble no matter what I paired it with.  The EVO 432 Aeon was almost as refined as the Pulsar.  Nothing else was much better than my old Innuos Zen Mk3.

 I also am unloading my old NUC.

Surprisingly, the Grimm made my old Schiit Yggy sound about twice as good.