@stuartk Since you are the OP sure, I can wander a little off topic to discuss DACs a bit. Keep in mind I am an engineer, not a professional reviewer. So I will do my best to communicate what I hear and experience. It was 3.5 years ago that I bought the Ayon Stealth Xs DAC and Ayon CD-TII Transport. The sound of this pair blew me away. I heard clarity and detail in my CDs like I had never heard my CDs before. But with that clarity came the occasional sibilance and the highs could be a little hot at times or edgy. That lead me to try different cables and room treatments. It helped. I also bought a very good power conditioner and eventually a better power cord which helped smooth out the highs quite a bit. I would still encounter a few songs with some irritating sibilance. Overall, I was very happy with the sound of the Stealth Xs and with my NUC based music server.
Then as we all seem to do- we start snooping around at gear and working ourselves into buying something, Back in December I bought the Aeries Cerat Hele'ne DAC with a 30 day trial. I followed that up with the purchase of the Antipodes K50 music server in January. Big mistake financially speaking (I also had to buy my wife something) but wow! This DAC is like the difference between a mid priced phono cartridge and a high end phono cartridge like I was talking about. The highs are creamy smooth with no fatigue or indication of sibilance on almost all recordings. I have come across a couple of female vocalist recordings with some sibilance but even those are still very pleasant and easy to listen to. I'll also mention that the rhythm and pace of this DAC (along with my Antipodes K50 music server) is outstanding and the best I have heard in digital matching my vinyl. And I worked a long time to get the right rhythm and pace with my vinyl gear.
I bought my new speakers 1.5 years after buying the Ayon gear. The highs might have changed some but not a lot as I recall. My new speakers brought more powerful and clear bass, more clarity overall and a much improved soundstage.
My turntable sits somewhat neglected as I explore a world of music on Qobuz. I played some vinyl a few weeks ago and was surprised at how close the digital and analog sides sound now. Digital used to be a very different sound.