Where does the DAC go?

Kal's words ring true to me. Well, I'd expand on 1. and say that you really don't "need" any of this stuff. I think that goes without saying and none of us would be here if we didn't "want" something more. That said, there are plenty of threads on budget DACs to search out. The good news is that digital tech has advanced at such a rate that you can get a lot more for your $ than say, 10 years ago. The answer to your question is, of course, relative to what you consider decent, and how well your system will respond to your "better" version. I could only guess that an audible improvement on a resolving system is easily in the $500 range and even less, though I don't know the threshold where your investment will not meet with your personal expectations. Plenty available in the 400-600 range that will likely best the DAC in the ROKU (again, an educated guess on my part). Candidates in that range that I'd recommend: PS Audio DLIII and the MHDT Labs Paradisea +. There are others, for sure. But per the sage advice from Kal, consider the rest of your system (just how well it might bring out the differences you are seeking) as well as your own expectations of what "better" is worth in dollars invested.

It goes between the player and the amp.

Complex answers to simple questions is what makes audiophiles amusing to the general population.

It goes between the player and the amp.

Complex answers to simple questions is what makes audiophiles amusing to the general population.

For anyone who is new to digital audio, an answer like that one to the question posed by the OP would leave them with very little additional understanding to the question they were asking as before the enlightenment provided by your reply. In a forum like this usually folks are just trying to be helpful. I'm at a loss of why that would amuse the general population, but glad they're enjoying themselves.

System: Cary Audio Design SLI-80 cranked up to F1 specs (and more) by/at the factory running Genalex Gold Lion KT88s, NOS Tung Sols and RCAs for preamps, AP Virgo IIIs, all custom solid silver ICs and speaker cables, Tice power conditioner; analog end is VPI Signature Scoutmaster and Benz Glider S lo output, Phonomena phone pre, couple of Shunyata power cords in there somewhere...

What streams? Like, MP3, AAC, WMA?

I kinda knew going in that this ROKU may be a little bit, um, underwhelming vis-a-vis the rest of the rig, but for $100 i figured it would be a start.

The digital output on any device, whether it is a CD player, DVD player or computer audio device like the Roku is all the same. It is usually Toslink optical or S/PDIF coaxial or both. This is a single cable that multiplexes the left and right channels in digital format onto one cable. The DAC takes this as input and generates left and right analog signals, two cables. This is generally fed to a preamp, integrated amp or "receiver". Sometimes the preamp is in the DAC, so it can drive amplifiers directly.

It is best to avoid use of digital volume control. This will reduce resolution and detail. Use analog volume instead with a preamp or passive transformer linestage like the Music First. Also avoid resistive passive linestages. They can give more detail, but dynamics usually suffer.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio