It's a challenging place to be, but an interesting one. You are essentially facing a 'leap of faith' albeit a leap based on sound science and backed by measurements. I don't underestimate how hard it can be to step away from well loved equipment to cheaper kit - we are conditioned to expect that better means more expensive - it doesn't!
You are unlikely to hear a significant improvement from changing the Streamer/pre-amp elements. Certainly won't be worse. It is possible that the DSP processing with newer equipment is better - I don't know enough about this though so I'd suggest you find out.
DSP in general is where the biggest improvements come from so have you considered looking more closely at this area: DSP in software, or in something like one of the miniDSP products with a WiiM streamer as a transport?
The WiiM can stream from external storage, NAS or PC/laptop, which might be enough. Something like an Eversolo DAC/Streamer offers storage but not DSP, there may be other options
As mentioned above, the most likely improvement - apart from DSP - will come from upgrading your Amp. Even then, the improvement might be minimal. Watch out for changing from a potentially coloured amp to a more neutral one as the difference can take time to adjust to.
Perhaps something to consider is build quality, longevity and serviceability (is that a word?). Personally, I'd be very happy with WiiM, miniDSP and well-made power amplifiers. Again, some of that is down to personal preference so do your reading and be happy with your choice.
Summarising - my opinion - a downgrade will give you same or better sound quality, perhaps not much better. If you can improve your DSP tools then you can probably get a better sound. You will be faced with quite understandable, but baseless, concerns that the new gear is somehow lower quality and that's the really tricky bit.
After playing with PEQ for couple of days I solved my biggest issue… toooo much … WAAAYYY TO MUCH bass. efore that i was just listening at -12db output from the source, so I don’t die. In general I’m quite happy, the only thing I miss is the ability to play with the volume from the app. Because I have a separate amp.
Was thinking maybe go naim all the way, so i can control everything from one app, even though sound quality will be slightly worse and will lose ability to play locally stored music (have to find a workable small nas solution) but then the naim player is too big and wont fit in my nightstand), so i got what i got. It fits in my nightstand which i use as a rack.
Then seeing all this excellent measuring cheap devices, I started doubting my sanity for dropping over 10K, where maybe 1/5 would have gave me the same. My “power distributor” costs more than that wiimp… if i get one of those i have to be careful not to forget some of my requirements, because the last years I discovered what I want/need and don’t want to miss. I also have my system for about 3-4 years unchanged.
First I had project maia amp and was playing over bluetooth and usb from pc
Then Blueound node 2i and vincent amp (no more tubes that sucked)… people started saying that the node is good for the kitchen, but not for real listening…
So I looked further...
got a naim xs2 amp…. so much better than the vincent ….
got a better network player… local music no more being forced to use streaming services. got an xs3 amp, because the xs2 was stinky ( i have gotten it used and didn’t trust it much) got teddy cap … while realized it makes a difference, the bass was really too much, and didn’t like the feel of it. Also don’t like the lights on naim amp and teddycap. But the amp feels and looks good, i got rid of the teddycap. Still don’t like the constant glow of the naim amp. The player manufacturer implemented a feature i requested (screen always off). So less distractions. Don’t want to tell who they are, because I’m not bashing them, quite cool, but slightly on the expensive part.
My perfect system will be one big black box with no screens. No analog inputs (maybe one for the cd player I used 5 times). Just wanted to have one, never had a cd player before. One good feeling volume knob in the middle with no indication or lights. No potentiometer control. Something i can reliably set over the app and from the physical control, without stupid noisy motor. Something thats modular. a compartment for power amp, pre amp, dac and streamer. things that i can change or upgrade. slots for two sata or nvme ssd so i can run raid1 on board. Convenient app. all of that in form factor like the eversolo a6 in width. height can be slightly more.
Things that come close:
nad m10 with storage and more power
or
naim nova pe with storage
The eversolo a8 in a6 form factor with integrated amp. No screens and lights. that would be cool. 400 Watt per channel in 4 Ohms, 200 in 8Ohms… I’m happy. 2 nvme slots with btrfs or zfs support with deduplication … even more happy. And if it’s 5K …. Omg even more happy. But could potentially spend a bit more on that.
