OPPO Sonica DAC to Lumin D2 Upgrade


I’m considering an upgrade from an OPPO Sonica DAC to a Lumin D2.  I’m generally satisfied with the OPPO sound and appreciate its simplicity of use (there is little doubt that it’s an absolute bargain at its price point).   

However, I briefly owned an Aurender A10 and found that it provided marginally better sound over the OPPO at a significantly higher cost.  Its only benefit, in addition to Aurender’s decent user app, was it’s on-board storage which was of little benefit to me.  So once again I’m considering an upgrade-this time at a more affordable level.   I prefer a unit that has similar functionality to the Sonica DAC.  

My basic question is this:  how much of a sonic improvement might I expect going from the Sonica DAC to the D2?  Also, how good is Lumin’s user app when used with Tidal streaming?  My OPPO was $799, the D2 lists for $2300.    The streamer/Dac (w/Tidal) will function as my sole source feeding a Belles Aria integrated and PMC twenty5.22 speakers.  I’ve found the Aria/PMC combo to be wonderfully satisfying and they will not be subject to change for the foreseeable future.  Any thoughtful advice will be much appreciated.
jreale
@jreale if your local dealer doesn't offer in-home trials, you could also ask if you could bring the Sonica DAC to them in order to do a direct comparison.
Jreale we can arrange for an in home demo so can most dealers.

You should really spend some quality time with a D2 in your home it is a fantastic product.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ


Post removed 
@jreale

Another alternative to the D2, and I have owned both the D1 w/SBooster and the Sonica, is the Teac Reference NT-505. Like the Lumin and the OPPO it is a DAC/Streamer combination and like the OPPO but not the Lumin also has digital inputs so it can be used as a separate DAC also. It like it’s more expensive Esoteric brethren also uses the Lumin app. It can be found for $1999 at Sound Approach and HiFi Heaven. I bought one a couple of months ago to replace the Lumin and I prefer it’s higher level DAC chipset from AKM while the operation is the same as the Lumin.