Lots of good thoughts here, thanks for the responses. Is there any consensus on whether a stand alone DAC, say in the $3k range, will be better than the built in DAC in the MA 8900, or the Boulder 866, or both? In other words, how good are built in DACs, in amps in this price range? Are they manufacturer throw-ins, or of a high quality, considering the cost of the amp?
And finally, if stand alones are, relatively speaking, generally better than built-ins, would you upgrade the streamer first or the DAC?