glens

Having a DAC with which you're already satisfied, I' d be inclined to opt for an optical transport of some kind which only provides digital output. There'd be no need, in my mind, to get a full-on "player" which merely duplicates something already downstream. Sounds like it would be needless expenditure at any rate.

I forgot to mention that I'm thoroughly enjoying my new Forte III pair driven by that unit! Cory (Metropolis Lake Outfitters) did me a real solid in that regard.

Hard to beat the utility of NAD C 338. https://nadelectronics.com/product/c-338-classic-digital-dac-amplifier/ I picked up a factory refurb from Crutchfield earlier this year. It meets all my needs except for maybe a couple percent of the time lacking the ability to modify tonal balance. As well, there are no means of inserting external signal processing equipment into the loop if you're considering doing that at all.

It's now been a year and change. Still running the Fortes? Has your impression of them altered appreciably?

On my stupid phone at lunch so unable to provide a direct link, but am sure there's a "pro" model that's all but the forte iii and has a rotatable horn(s) panel for horizontal positioning. Same horns/drivers I think, but is front-firing bass reflex. KI-362-SMA-II