I'm surprised no one asked what kind of music you listen to and how you listen to it. Classical, classic rock, country? Do you sit in the sweet spot or is you music on while you do other things?
Personally, I have a Wadia i170 fed via digital to a Bryston BDA-1 DAC, fed into a McIntosh MA-6900 and finally into Paradigm Reference speakers. Source is an iPOD Nano, some AIFF, some lossless. I cant tell the difference by the way, between the two. Remember, even with lossless, the best you're getting is CD quality.
Good luck. It would be good to hear what you end up deciding.
Personally, I have a Wadia i170 fed via digital to a Bryston BDA-1 DAC, fed into a McIntosh MA-6900 and finally into Paradigm Reference speakers. Source is an iPOD Nano, some AIFF, some lossless. I cant tell the difference by the way, between the two. Remember, even with lossless, the best you're getting is CD quality.
Good luck. It would be good to hear what you end up deciding.