CD Transport vs Music Server

[Anwar]

I want to share my experience.  My Marantz SA-10 CD/SACD player is also a DAC.  It can play music files though its USB drive input and can also take USB Audio input from streamer.  It took me a while to reach a stage where an external streamer using SA-10 as a USB DAC produces better sound quality versus playing music files with SA-10, and that's through a DIY streamer with music files stored in local SSD.

 

https://dranwarali.com/2021/06/06/audio-recording-01/

 

In your case, consider getting a streamer with local SSD and with digital audio output suitable for your existing DAC.  Having a streamer means you can also play high resolution audio, not limited to CD 16-bit 44.1kHz.