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Help picking dac/pre amp

Coors75

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Hello, I have an incomplete system consisting of a bgw 250d power amp and mission 710 speakers. I usually run it through my pc sound card. I would like to upgrade and looking for a dac/preamp combo or separates. Wanting to stream tidal/flac and have the option for better.
I’ve been interested in:

Marantz HD-dac1
The orchard pecanpi
Topping d30 or e30 plus preamp?

many recommendations would be appreciated.
Budget max $800usd

but any king of best at that budget ($800) a $500 alternative if that’s not too much to ask.
Greatly appreciated!
 

BDWoody

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Maybe the SMSL M500

Do you have anything else you want to connect, or is the computer they only source you are concerned with? Meaning...any TT's or other components?
 

fitero

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I agree with BDWoody's suggestion. It will allow several configurations, and give you the opportunity to experiment with DSD and MQA for example.

I am using an Orchard Audio PecanPi as a Roon endpoint and Preamp (line-amp) for the moment as I am in between preamps and it works perfectly and sounds great. However, obviously, I can't hook anything else to the system with it.
 
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Coors75

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I would like the option to add a TT at a later date and I would like my tv sound to go through it as well, though music would be the priority. I had had smsl on my radar but not the m500 specifically. What sets the smsl apart? MQA? Any other higher or lower priced value options? I just find the Marantz pretty visually appealing.
Thanks
 
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Coors75

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Would the Suncoz sgd1, Gustard x16 and similar be equal options?
 

Geared4me

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It appears that the X16 may turn out to be the better product but if you want to add a tt in the future you will probably want an analog input.
 
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Coors75

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Would the best options change if MQA isn’t a factor? I’ve never used it and hear it isn’t truly necessary for quality listening.
Cheers
 
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