Pi 4b and dac recommendation

[blarg]

It’s really hard to find good recent info on audio setups though.  I’ve read that USB DACs are now better than hats, and I’ve read that they’re not.  I’ve read that there are DACs that don’t require an LPS and I’ve read that you still need a decent low noise power supply.

So….given what I currently have and that I’m not looking to spend thousands (or more than I could buy a better non pi-based streaming device for) what would be an upgrade in sound from what I have?

I’ve read that the Allo Boss2 is pretty nice, but is it better than a Hifiberry dac+ pro?  Is there something else I should look at?

Let's start with the LPS: "It is clear that whether you use the USB power, or the supplied switching power supply, there is absolutely no audible improvement in the output of the DAC with linear power supplies."

source: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum...dacs.7021/

so don't waste money on a LPS.

And then about the DAC: Allo is good, but check for yourself: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum...ussion.10/

Personally I have a Topping DX3 pro which is great, one from FxAudio with good sound but the display is already broken, and then the Cambridge Audio CXA61 I use on the main hifi system. All of them are fired by pi4/Moode.

pi4 1GB is normally enough, I would go with the 2GB version to have some additioanl capacity and then just run Moode on an external SSD attached to the pi.

When comparing 40-pin HAT DACs to the new crop of USB ones, is one better than the other?  Last time I looked into it the HATs were preferred and gave superior performance.  It looks like this may have changed and the USB DACs are now better?  

I was looking at the Topping D10 as I can’t imagine what I would need a remote control for - I just use the Moode web UI with constant signal output and I have an IR blaster to control the volume directly on my amp.