Move to the next level

Artemus, thank you for bringing another contender to my attention. I have not settled in one DAC camp or the other due to inadequate opportunities to actually listen to a variety of DACs. But I currently I am of the opinion, based on reading, that DACs are like ice cream, they come in flavors. Ideally you listen to enough and you develop an opinion of what goes best with you taste on your system. For that reason I was trying to start with a quality streaming source, figuring to address the DAC question down the road. However I have run into the reality that there are many interesting products out there like your Exasound and like the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, that "start" with the DAC and add on the streamer/network bridge. Life is complicated.I like the look of the Exasound products and they are in the right price range...have you heard them?

@bruce19, Lots of possibilities. If your top priority is to simply improve SQ, most any of the suggestions given will likely do the trick. Understanding and prioritizing your secondary objectives are what will differentiate between many of the options. Do you prefer on-board or out-board DAC, how much of a priority is Roon and the list goes on. One thing you didn't mention is Bluesound? Their product offers terrific value and would allow you to focus more on the DAC if you wanted to go in that direction first? I just upgraded from Bluesound Vault to Innuos Zenith. I can give you some details on what pushed me in that direction if you are interested. Best of luck.

@Chilehed, I would love to hear your reflections on your move from the Vault to the Zenith. I am not considering the Bluesound only because I don't perceive it as enough of a step up sound-wise from the Yamaha WXC-50 I currently have, to be worthwhile.  You made the kind of jump I am considering. I'm not so sure that the integrated file server is essential for me. I have a Mac mini with Audirvana that works well and I suppose I could always stream files from the Mac to the streamer. Integration would just simplify things and hopefully add a tad more sound quality.  I appreciate what Roon offers but I'm not sure it is worth the price of admission for me. Since I'd be holding an Ipad anyway to control the system, it seems very easy to jump to wikipedia, allmusic or other places to research artists composers etc. The one thing that would tip in Roon's favor is if they offer the kind of info that used to be standard on pop and jazz album covers naming the sidemen by track, song authorship, producer, etc..I don't know if they do this.  I am currently using Spotify and I can tell you that they very rarely offer this info to a sufficient degree. Recently I had the chance to use Roon while listening in an audio store; I didn't find the interface that intuitive, despite being pretty computer literate with other software.

@bruce19, you are probably right about the move to Bluesound. I only mention it because of the value and that it is widely integrated with all the popular services and has a well integrated control app. I know Yamaha makes some good stuff and am a fan from way (way) back. I guess I was thinking that if you went in this direction you could focus on the DAC which arguably has a greater affect on SQ (for me it certainly did). Going from the onboard Bluesound DAC to the Benchmark DAC3 I currently use was immediate and obvious. Going from the Bluesound Vault to the Innuos required a bit of auditory memory (mine sucks) and it was not obvious until I played a bunch of well known tracks on the Innuos and then switched and played the same tracks on the Bluesound. It should also be noted that I did the BS/Innuos comparison at the dealer using the same DAC/amp/speakers (but different signal path as BS uses SPDIF and Innuos uses USB). I had some issues getting Innuos integrated at home so was switching back and forth with the BS. Being more familiar with the sound of my system and the room made it much easier for me to distinguish between the two. I still only have 25 or so hours on the Innuos and it sounds noticeably better than BS. I’m not great with colorful audiophile adjectives, but there is more image definition and separation between performers with Innuos. It adds to the palpability and puts you that much closer to the presentation, and at this point that is what I am after. But aside from the improved SQ I have been interested in Roon. My son has it and I am intrigued by the features and amount of background content they make available to the user. I don’t have a suitable server to host the core so being able to run that on the Zenith is a plus and I am seriously hoping that works out because the alternative control app (orange squeeze) I am currently using is a clunker. I also have a library of ripped CDs that I had on my Vault so having the ability to import them to the Innuos was also attractive to me. Already I can say I’ve achieved the incremental SQ improvement I was after so even if I don’t see more changes during break-in I am happy. The one negative is that I miss the Bluesound control app. If I can get Roon to integrate with no negative side effects that will be a huge plus.
In the end I was looking for a Vault upgrade and since the Zenith is almost an exact overlay from a feature perspective it made my decision easy. I think you have more to consider? Good news is you have considerable budget and no shortage of dealers that are willing to let you listen or demo their gear and that is the fun part:) Best of luck on your journey.

I been running a Wyred4Sound modded Sonos for years to a Wadia 321. I wanted to move up so I could stream 24/96Khz and above on Qobuz. I found a Bryston Pi used for half price. Took a few weeks to get it sorted but the improvement is there. Manic Moose interface is spartan compared to apps but having a browser interface has its advantages. It also came with a Radioparadise FLAC 16/48 capability but alas it does not work. It is Roon Ready. But the only services it appears to support are Tidal and Qobuz. I like that fact it has an external power supply. It mounted an external drive with some tracks I bought off of HDtracks and sorted those and plays seamlessly. Small, light weight and good looking piece of hardware. https://bryston.com/digital-audio/bdppi/.
If I had $5K to spend I would be considering BDP-3 and BDA-2 combo. If you need DSD you have to shell out more $$
But there is a BDA-3 here that looks interesting.  https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649565689-bryston-bda-3-silver-with-blue-lights-dealer-demo-piec...