Why a separate DAC?

Thanks folks - this confirmed what I thought. When I was researching I wanted to build a system with a tilt towards HT, but could be somewhat HiFi too. Arcam had the lowest THD I could find, and the wattage, sensitivty(?), etc seemed pretty good. That said I feel like Bluray (DTS-MA/Dolby TrueHD) content sound amazing, but I feel like the music is not as good as it could be. Perhaps I'll give one of these a go. Stick with Arcam, despite the mild scoff above, or try something else? Mainly using for iTunes content (the humanity!).

Oh and btw, can't overstate how amazing movies sound without separate components.

I am not familiar with your AVR however it is likely it can be used as either multichannel HT and 2 or 2.1 channel audio for music. Many BD players are not at their best when used for CD playback. Your player could be used as a transport into a stand alone DAC for listening to music. Use the spdif digital output from the player. Use the same player as currently connected for video.

It's the AVR360, lowest wattage in the bunch from Arcam, at 75watts per channel (small apt). All of the circuitry and processors are Identical across their entire AVR range, only difference I can tell is wattage. As for speaker configuration, I have two KEF R300's bi-amped, with their slim center. No rear or sub. Cables are Signal.

Running music through it, I just Airplay over Appletv, which I think is my weakest link, which is why I've been investigating a DAC with Airplay. I will try burning a CD and playing through the BR as an experiment. Kind of curious if that will affect anything. HDMI can transport more data than SPDIF as far as I know, so I shouldn't lose signal there. I'll reply back if it makes a difference.

As for the DAC part - I'm keen to have something easy to use with Airplay or Bluetooth, but prefer Airplay.

Thanks for replying back!