Got Innuous, now a DAC

I have an Innuos Zenith & had a Border Patrol which was very nice & musical if not the most detailed & refined as better ones. I tried a few including the latest PS Audio Direct Steam which was quite good in some ways but was strangely noisy at times. I even had them send me a second unit w/ the same strange & annoying results. I settled on a Bricasti M1 Series II which is more costly but sounded so good, I had to go with it. I don’t replace equipment very often so I go w/ the best stuff I can afford at the time.
 

The Bricasti is dead silent, black background, very dynamic w/ a huge enveloping image & no fatigue. The quality of construction seems rock solid &  build just about every part used including their transformers other than the circuit boards which are made next door. Their model 3 is of similar quality for half the price & might be a good consideration. 

Chord Qutest! In my system it was transformative.

I would add the Border Patrol Dac to your list at your price point. There has always been a synergy between Innuos and Border Patrol, and both brands build around the quality of their power supplies. Gary Dews at Border Patrol also sells Innuos products. The Border Patrol SE-i is a refined, natural, human-sounding DAC that is not fatiguing. I use that with my Innuos Zenith as I wanted a streamer/dac to match my Esoteric transport and Audio Note Dac combo.  
   

I still have the original Pontus ll and it’s still has a wonderful sound to it.  I’m looking forward to upgrading someday, but I’m not a a great hurry.  Although I have had an eye out for a DDC. 😃

If you can locate a previously owned Aqua La Voce, jump on it. Very organic sound (IMO). If not, and you can afford it, buy it new- I think it's around $6K (maybe more now as it's been awhile since I checked). I was so amazed, I upgraded to the Aqua Formula (their high-end DAC). It added further improvement, La Voce was a giant step up from a decent DAC in the Hegel integrated I had at the time. Now set for the duration.