Higher End DACs

1--i have the MSB v2 Renderer module for my Select II, and when i first got it it was marginally superior to the USB. i could quickly switch back and forth and it was close. this was with using the 2015 SGM server as the Roon end point. but understand a renderer is a CPU inside your dac, so it brings with it noise.

2--then i got the new Extreme server, which was a huge step up in performance. and MSB introduced the Pro USB module, which inserted a fiber optic interface between the USB and the Select II. this clearly boosted the performance with USB beyond the Renderer. and removing my ’now idle’ Renderer module from my Select II slightly lowered the noise, since it’s a CPU.

3--then further i upgraded my USB cable to the Gobel Lachorde USB, another step up, and added fibre optic to my LAN which was another step up.

4--i moved my files from a NAS on my LAN to 32 tb of PCIe drives inside the Extreme. GAME OVER.

much more detail is on that very long thread.

the Extreme is not for everyone, and i’m not qualified to answer questions in detail about this stuff. but there is no doubt that the Extreme is better than other servers by a wider margin than the difference in dacs in the middle range of price. so get a decent dac and an Extreme instead on doing the dac upgrade merry-go-round. it’s a streaming world out there and servers do the heavy lifting in it. your dac can only be as good as what it's fed. the server performance is a limitation to that. 

One brand that you can definitely audition at home without any risk is PS Audio.  At the very least would be worth getting their stuff to pit against the opposition.

Servers do heavy lifting in heavy lifting environments, streaming music files is not one of them unless you're  Tidal or Qobuz. You’re better off keeping the server side completely away from the audio components connecting to a good streamer DAC like some mentioned here. Good DAC’s today filter noise and distortion and reclock the stream from the internal embedded clock as long as you’re not feeding it a garbage signal, use a decent NAS or server on a good strong network there’s no need to go bonkers price wise with the server side.

Servers do heavy lifting in heavy lifting environments, streaming music files is not one of them unless you're Tidal or Qobuz. You’re better off keeping the server side completely away from the audio components connecting to a good streamer DAC like some mentioned here. Good DAC’s today filter noise and distortion and reclock the stream from the internal embedded clock as long as you’re not feeding it a garbage signal, use a decent NAS or server on a good strong network there’s no need to go bonkers price wise with the server side.

your thinking is about 3 years behind the current bleeding edge.

which is perfectly fine if you are happy. if you are wanting the best possible digital music reproduction you have some work to do.

@mikelavigne, I do not understand your above post.  As you posted, if "your thinking is about 3 years behind the current bleeding edge.", what are you recommending?    Please update the post with more details.  Thanks..