I've been working on an all in one, stuffing a Pi and DAC in a shoebox size amp. For my two penneth I'd definitely try a Pi. I've used Rune, Volumio and now Moode for the OS. It's devilishly simple to set up.
I've tried the HifiBerry Dac+Pro and IQaudio Dac+ preferring the IQaudio though I'm not sure I ever got the clock sync working on the HiFiBerry. I may go back and explore that.
Pi3 + DAC + Fast 8Gb SD card + power supply would set you back under a ton and it's pretty much plug and play. Having a decent fast SD card is key to minimising dropouts. The Pi3 even works with its built in WiFi on my network so no need for a USB WiFi Dongle. Lots of tweaks in the Moode software available and Tim is very responsive on it's development over on DIYaudio.
If you're near me you welcome to have a listen.