Best DAC for around $2,500 or less

If you can  go a little more say 40 thousand the top of line Aqua dac and CD player . Use yor credit Card then claim chapter 13 your in !! Hire a good lawyer would help .

@kishekar  Fantastic post!!! Copying it here, in it's entirety, because it's commendable for it's wisdom and perspective. Thank you.

Does that thinking translate to cartridges? After all, they are a source too. It's an analog-to-analog conversion, but to stay logically consistent, why should deviation from accuracy have any place there either?

This is a hobby entirely of personal preferences -- and I assume most people put their enjoyment of music over the accuracy of a given piece of equipment's measurement. I would never claim the Border Patrol is the most accurate DAC – I 100% trust the measurements that say it is not. But given I have a Benchmark DAC sitting inches from it, and have put 100s (maybe 1000s?) of hours into listening to both, in same system, I feel pretty confident knowing which one I enjoy more. For arguments sake, I could even buy someone saying "there's a mental trick/placebo thing going on and you are fooling yourself" and my response would be "OK, maybe you are right... but I'm not looking to cure cancer with this DAC, and if I'm fooling myself into this much pleasure, please don't give me the real medicine if it lowers my enjoyment"

And isn't maximizing enjoyment ultimately the dimension that the OP is most likely aiming for within the $2,500 budget?  

Of course, if the question was "which is the best measuring DAC where I can be happy with the graphs it produces?" then we are having a totally different discussion and I'd only point to the BP as what *not* to do.

As I've noted elsewhere on this forum... I recently obtained a Yggy, which when teamed with the Audio Reseach 5SE preamp, and a A21 / JC-2's driving Linkwitz Orion's, or Harbeth 30.1's - provides exceptional detail resolution, imaging, and holographic soundstage, not too mention the remarkable tone, tenor and texture, PRAT, and all the rest.  I was persuaded to try the Yggy, based on all of the various reviews, which maintain that it competes with the very best DAC's available at any price.  

This experience has convinced me that the R2R Ladder Dacs are superior to all the rest.  

Though, the various comments that the Denafrips Terminator, or AM Trubador III provide a comparable sound - I think a lot depends on the rest of your system, and how well those components mate with the DAC.  I find it difficult to believe it can get much better, than what I've experienced, so far... though I may someday find out.

Chord Electronics Qutest.

I would like to suggest the Matrix X-Sabre Pro, that is under 2000$. High quality each part of it. It sounds better than Chord Qutest and TT, a bit worst (at drum reproduction, drums not as dry as it could be) than the Dave. No headphone amp, but there is volume control. I don't find better DAC for its price.

An another more cheaper, measured well solution could be, the already mentioned Topping D90.

If you prefer Chord Qutest, suggestion of lot of members, let me to advice to replace the power supply, for example to Allo Shanti, it added some improvement in signal to noise to me. What I found as main weakness, Qutest does not shine in quality of high tones.