You have a good digital system already; a lot of changes, even more expensive ones, may be a sideways move. I find Primaluna gear to have a sound of its own, and not necessarily super transparent — you may benefit more from system matching than ‘upgrading.’ To use an extreme example just for illustration, if your system (and room) presents a somewhat dead sound that is also lush and warm, something as simple as a Topping D90 (which is ruthlessly revealing and harsh in some systems) may be better than a $15k tube DAC, or a Chord Qutest could fit the bill. Or if your system is bright and very transparent, perhaps you’d prefer a tube DAC or NOS ladder DAC, for example preferring something like a DENAFRIPS Pontus to a Terminator. Unless you don’t mind spending the money, I would recommend trying some of these sorts of DACs with various cables, do some quasi-blind testing, and hear if you can any differences. If you’ve already done this, and truly want to ‘upgrade’, Soix’s questions become very relevant. Have you checked out the DAC threads by users Verdant Audio and Mitch2 ? There’s a huge sampling of different DACs and how they sound in those threads. Lastly, consulting a good dealer like Verdant Audio, or another that sells Devore could be helpful. As for me, I’ve tried a lot of DACs and with various systems over the years, and right now am using a $1500 DAC/streamer with no loss of enjoyment. If I had a different system overall, a more expensive (or different) DAC might be appropriate.
Upgrading digital side
I currently own a Jay's Audio CDT-MK2 CD transport and a Holo May KTE DAC. I also stream (mostly files) with a Raspberry Pi (Roon and Audirvana software). These feed PrimaLuna EVO400 preamp and amp and Devore Gibbon speakers.
I am looking to upgrade my entire digital side. I have an extensive CD collection that I will continue to listen to as well as thousands of files.
My budget is around $20,000 and I prefer new equipment.
So far, for DACS, I have been looking at the Grimm MU2, Bricasti M21, Mola Mola Tambuqui and the DCS Lina. For server/streamers, Aurender N200 or N20 and Innous Stream 3. I know that the DACS I mentioned also stream, but I'm not sure that I want to be completely tied to Roon or Audirvana. I like the idea of internal storage for my files.
Finally, I am also considering the Luxman D-07X SACD player, which has a USB input where I would connect a streamer. I'm wary of the quality of the DAC in the Luxman, especially for streaming.
Any advice on the best combination of the above (or something I haven't looked into yet) would be greatly appreciated.