Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?

@fthompson251 thanks! 
But even though I trust your ears and believe you it works, I can’t spend that much on a network switch. The voice inside my head says no. Lol

I would 100% use the $2800 towards a new cartridge though. But that switch is a hard no for me. 

To add, I know we think the noise floor of a component is low until we actually get to hear it lowered by either better power or better signal. But in the case of the Meitner MA3i, I absolutely can’t detect any smearing or a hint of noise impacting sound quality. I don’t even use a power conditioner. Dedicated lines, furutech gtx-d NCF rhodium outlets or shunyata outlets. I alternate once in a while to get a slightly different sound. 

@audio-b-dog  I ONLY mentioned it because you were talking about getting an Ifi Lan Silencer. Secondly that price is in Singapore Dollars. You're not the first to shudder at a $2200 US$ switch, yet I've seen them line up a bunch of crap before the streamer to address LAN noise. I sold my analogue set up 5 years ago and never looked back so I have focused on making the most of the digital side since. So I look at this stuff differently. Enjoy your new DAC. 

@audphile1 

When I inherited money I went into a bit of an audio buying orgy. The SF Olympica Nova Vs were the biggest expense, but the dealer also sold me a Shunyata Venom 15 power conditioner. It is one of those things that when I did an A/B comparison it was an audible improvement. Would I notice it was missing if it were removed and I hadn't listened to my stereo for a day or even when I turned it on in the morning? I don't think so. There are many things, like expensive cables, that make a difference in sound when you do an A/B comparison, but that difference is not, as you mention, anywhere near what a new cartridge might bring you. 

@audio-b-dog if you recall I had mentioned that I was running into issues with Mcontrol not being able to discover the MA3i to perform firmware updates. Streaming music was not an issue. Only performing the firmware updates was not possible. 
I spoke to a few folks at EMM Labs and after I described all the troubleshooting steps I had taken to figure out the issue. We concluded that the issue is with the network card.
They were at a show in Europe and promised to send me the new network card when they returned. Isis from EMM reached out to me on her own to let me know they’re back, have the network card and she just needed to know where to ship it to. 
Yesterday she sent a brand new network card and it arrived today.

I’m happy to report that I swapped the replacement in and the problem is solved!

First rate customer service from EMM Labs/Meitner Audio! Very cool to be able to talk to these fine folks who never rush a conversation, and they take care of you promptly!