Hi Everyone!
I thought I would pop in and post an update on my DAC journey. First of all, I really appreicate all the help, advice and guidance post here and that I received though PM's. Thank you all.
I ended up audtioning a few DAC's. To name a few (and this not an exhaustive list):
Chord DAVE
Berkely Alpha V3
MSB Premier
Bricast M1
DCS Bartok APEX
Linn Kilmax
AudioNote (ANK) Level 5
PS Audio DSD
T+A DAC200
Weiss DAC501
I had the majotiy of these at home, in my system for at least a few days.
Long story short the DAC that won my money is the Playback Designs MPD-8. Frankly, compaired to the rest, it wasn't even close in most cases. My second favorite was the MSB (for quite a bit more money). I know it will sound trite but the Playback is the most musical sounding DAC I've ever expericened. It's smooth without being dull. It's detailed without being clinical. It's dymanic without being grating. To me, it's the full-meal deal.
Best,
-Paul