The DAC is only about a year old.
I realize they improve DACs all the time, but how much improvement can there be left to perform? I just question the A/B/X test results between two up-to-date DACs one in the $500 price range vs another in the $5000 price range where everything else is equal in the system.
Thanks for the clarification on the DAC Wayde. I misunderstood your previous posts and though that your DAC and amp were both 10 years old.
I guess the $500 < $5,000 DAC question comes down to how much cash your willing to part with to chase that final bit of audio nirvana. I wouldn't change your DAC if you're happy with what you have now.
As you well know different tube amps, different tubes, etc comes with a whole another level of audio obsessive compulsive disorder.
I have a big box of tubes stashed in my office from various iterations/combinations I've tried on my headphone amp, pre amplifier and amplifier. I've pissed a lot of good $$ away on tubes chasing different/better sound in my tube gear.
If you really want to tinker with that magic combo of amp and LCD-3 - I'd play with a quality tube amp like a Woo. That would be a lot of fun.
I'm definitely way past using mp3. I've only got a few (thousand) .mp3s left in my music server. My library is mostly flac with about 1/3rd high-res files. I've been pretty dedicated at building up my hi-res collection the most.
I don't use MP3 either. Amazon let's you download a digital copy of some of your music purchases. I bought a vinyl LP this morning and downloaded the corresponding .MP3 from Amazon Music. Pure rubbish.
That said; I've had my fair share of FLAC's that suck because the original mastering of the recording sucked.
I was "happier" with my music collection when my amp/headphone weren't of such good quality. In the pre head-fi days I just could hear or didn't care about the lousy sound of my digital music.