Could I make use of a DAC with my setup?

For example you connect a cdp to the P5 on analog 1 on the P5 it is processed by the cdp dac. You connect the same cdp to digital in coax you use the dac on the P5 it's the same deal with an exteranl dac just connect analog in.

In your example you would do ....PC >dac> any analog input P5 > A23.  In this case you bypass the P5 dac. Whether you would notice any improved SQ , well you would have to determine that. 

OK, great, thanks for all your replies.  I did not know this, as I thought any input signal into the P5 preamp would go through its DAC.

This opens up a lot of things for me to think about!! :-)

And, yes, n80, I have been looking at the Schiit products, but just thought there was no way I could make one work for me.  :-)  Thanks for your thoughts about this.

Just curious was there a reason you never connected the PC to the usb on the P5?

Well, it is complicated. :-) My PC is next to a wall, while the audio rig and speakers are well out into a somewhat large room (20x25).  In the morning, I listen to my $20 desktop speakers while at the computer.  I don't power on the rig until later in the day. 

Anyway, when I would "tell" my 10-yr.-old Win10 PC that I now wanted to listen not to my desktop speakers, but to my USB connected setup, the PC had trouble making the switch-over elegantly and often (not always) sent static over the USB connection to the P5.  I grew tired of trying to troubleshoot this. 

I was told that the 3.5mm connection is high fidelity (like the USB), and this has worked out well.  The P5 has an 'AUX in' on the front panel.

The only problem is one of convenience.  I have to manually switch out the 3.5mm cable from the P5 to the 3.5mm cable of the desktop speakers when I want to transition.

My goal is to buy a laptop, integrate into my setup, and stream from the laptop.  I'm still in transition, held up not so much by lack of funds as a lack of knowledge about how to proceed; hence, the DAC question above.