[aricml]

How do you know how to balance a streamer and DAC within a budget? Say, with a $2,000 target budget would you spend $800 on a streamer and $1,200 on a DAC? Maybe just all of it on an single box that does both? How do you balance the priority with your dollars?

[Jeff_From_Michigan]

The one box LUMIN solution has worked out great for me. I am currently running the T2, but this also applies to the D2 that I own and multiple other LUMIN players. With LEEDH volume control, you can also run the LUMIN units directly to the power amps, meaning that you don't necessarily need a preamp in the chain.

If I decided to go the separate streamer and DAC route, I would probably end up spending about ⅔ to ¾ of the combined budget on the DAC.

Interested to see what others say.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I agree with the Lumin.  I helped a friend out who was wanting exactly the same thing.  We auditioned the new Lumin D3 and it sounds fabulous.   It sounded better than a Blue Sound Node by far.  It sells for $2500, more than your budget.

As far as an all-in-one vs separates, that is a personal decision.  I prefer to have separates since I can upgrade the DAC or streamer separately in case I want to upgrade but all in one gear means less clutter and cables.

[Zuman]

I've spent my hifi life trying to get the most for the least money. That's usually meant buying very good used or demo gear, then upgrading a piece at a time when I have the opportunity.
I lived with a NAD (Masters Series) M32 integrated amp with built-in DAC and phono stage and an M50.2 digital player/server for many years and enjoyed them a great deal, but I eventually wanted to improve all (six) areas they encompassed. That required pretty much starting from scratch.
Since replacing my amp with a Modwright KWH 225i, I've added a separate Modwright phono stage and bought an Okto dac8 DAC, which I later replaced with a Denafrips Terminator DAC. I also replaced the M50.2 with a Pachanko Labs Constellation Mini SE.  Again, the Modwright, Denafrips and Pachanko gear was used or demo, and I sold all of the previous components.
I guess my recommendation would be that if you tend to hold on to your gear for a long time, a well-regarded integrated device could be an excellent solution with added price efficiency and strong synergy between functions (my friend has an integrated Lumin streamer/DAC in his $200k system).  But if you like to upgrade a bit at a time, you might want to look at separates.

[Nick B]

For $2,000, you can get a Holo Red streamer ($798) and a Holo Cyan2 dac ($1,198) and have a very, very good combination. That is what I own and I'd have to spend a lot more to best it. I also have the equipment and cables to get the maximum out of the Holo products.

Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Hattor Big preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Holo Cyan2 dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS