Bel Canto DAC 2 or Ikemi?

Joyelyse, I'd make the drive to hear the Audio Note products.
They are non-oversampling, no digital filter, tube output designs and are widely praised for their musicality. Try to listen to the AN-CD3.1x CDP ($2650.00) and if you can possibly consider the financial stretch the AN-DAC2.1x Balanced ($4K).

Thought you'd like to know...

Bel Canto DAC2 vs. Ikemi
First we set off to decide which we preferred, the Ikemi or the Bel Canto DAC2. We started with Tori Amos’s “Under the Pick.” Our first thought was the Bel Canto kicks the Ikemi’s a**. Then we sat down for some serious listening. We used Diana Krall’s “Love Scenes,” Shawn Colvin’s “A Few Small Repairs” and a Puccini opera. We thought the Bel Canto was deeper, more transparent, and far more detailed. There was more air. The Ikemi was more intimate and smoother. With the Ikemi, it sounds like Diana Krall is playing in your living room, with the Bel Canto in a small club. Where the Bel Canto really stood out was in creating a sense of space. The cymbals rang out longer, the music echoed as if in a large space. The Ikemi was much flatter. If you haven’t figured it out already, we’re keeping the Bel Canto. At a third of the price, it’s an amazing deal.

Transport
The short of it is, the transport matters. We may not have been able to tell the difference between the DVD player and the carousel, but we had no problem telling the Ikemi from the DVD player. We used Tori Amos’s “Under the Pick” and Indigo Girls self titled album (two copies of each). Within just 2 or 3 A/B’s with each, the difference was easily apparent. The Ikemi was more full bodied and detailed. I was hoping it wouldn’t be the case. Now I have to shop for a transport. Any suggestions? We can’t afford the Ikemi for a transport. :)

The Vecteur D2.2 ($1490) gets very good reviews (I have not heard it). The caveat is that the importer(there are very few dealers), Mutine, seems to be either an arrogant jerk or hopelessly disorganized or both. Aside from the Vecteur well regarded transports for <$2K are a very scarce commodity. Hopefully someone else will have a better suggestion.
For what it is worth I really like the Stealth Varidig digital cable.

Like Greenman I also chose the Ayre CX-7 over ther Ikemi-even though here in the UK the price of the Ayre is very expensive.
My point is,if it helps you, is that I think the Ikemi is great with acoustic type material-with rock or more complicated modern recordings I think it lacks performance.
I would try hard to hear a CX-7 if there is a way you can.

Ignore my last post-I misread your audition.