help me with a DAC decision please

As described above, the Schiit and the Mytek Brooklyn DAC are possible options for you to consider.  In addition, the two DAC's below are within your price range and include a volume control as you requested.  I own the Prism Sound CALLIA and like it very much.   The Resonessence Labs Veritas DAC recently announced DAC includes the ESS Technology the ES9028PRO.

I am using the Callia DAC in my two channel home theater system running an optical cable from my LG OLED 4k HDR TV to the Callia balanced to my Ayre AX-7e integrated amplifier to my Quad 2L speakers.   My audio only system uses a different DAC (Bricasti M1 SE DAC Dual Mono).   Please review: 

1) Prism Sound CALLIA USB Audiophile DAC and Pre-amplifier ($2,595)

"Designed and manufactured exclusively in the United Kingdom, the Prism Sound CALLIA USB Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) and digital audio preamplifier is tailored for listening to music.

CALLIA is simply the best way to experience digital music. Coupled with high quality analogue power amplification and loudspeakers, CALLIA will deliver your music exactly as the recording producer intended. Whether it is early music, symphonic, choral, easy listening, elevator music, jazz, pop, hip-hop, EDM, garage, hard rock or something else, the clarity and neutrality of CALLIA will amaze you with its flexibility in the face of such different genres.

Using the acclaimed Prism Sound signal path, clock circuitry, ARM Cortex processor & USB platform of the Prism Sound professional range, CALLIA supports USB and S/P-DIF players".

http://www.prismsound.com/hifi/products_subs/dac1/dac1_home.php

2) Resonessence Labs Veritas DAC ($2,850)

"Resonessence Labs announces that their latest Audio DAC product, VERITAS is now shipping. Featuring the very latest in Sabre chip technology from ESS Technology the ES9028PRO.  In celebration of the fact that we are the first company to introduce a product that has the PRO series Sabre chip at its core. Each unit is machined out of a solid block of Aluminum and measure just 7.3” x 5.9” x 1.96”.  We are offering a choice of three colors, Black, Silver and Gold".

http://www.resonessencelabs.com/shop/veritas/

If possible, I suggest you audition these DAC's in your home to help you make a decision.  The problem is this may be impossible so I suggest you take your time and review these posts for more information.    

thanks hgeifman
that's a lot of helpful information. i will do the research. listening is a different story. i will check out all your info. thanks for taking your time.

Resonessence Labs Veritas DAC , is my primary DAC, it is a fine DAC which I use only for CD playback via my Aurender. This DAC does not have a PA or HPA which, for me, is a plus...since I was looking for a straight forward DAC, it also has seven filter modes that can be changed on the fly. I haven’t really sorted thru the different filter modes yet, since it sounds so good as is.I believe I have the first production model, received DAC this past May, I had to sent back to RL for a firmware update this past Aug. The support from RL is first rate M. Mallinson was a pleasure to deal with.

There's a Bel Canto DAC 3.5VB for sale here now with the VBS power supply in your price range.  I had the DAC 3VB in my system and it was outstanding (the VBS power supply makes a huge improvement over non-VB version -- I compared both in my system), and I found the preamp to be absolutely transparent and on par with my Bryston preamp, although it doesn't offer a balance control if that matters).  Read the reviews.  My only concerns would be that I don't think it does DSD and only has SPDIF input that may require their converter depending on your setup. 

If any of these concerns are deal breakers I'd take Erik's advice and try the Mytek.  Gets very nice reviews, and the ability to demo it in your system is a big plus.  Best of luck. 

I also suggest you look at the Ayre Codex DAC priced at $1,795.  "The Codex has many design features not commonly found in a DAC that retails for $1795. One is a pure analog, linear power supply instead of the more commonly found switching power supply. Another is a custom Ayre developed Minimum Phase Filter that was developed from 4 months of listening tests with a Burr-Brown DAC chip. A fully balanced signal path throughout the analog circuitry with zero feedback is also found in the Codex".

https://www.ayre.com/codex.htm

https://www.ayre.com/codex_specs.htm

http://www.audiostream.com/content/ayre-acoustics-codex-usb-dac-headphone-amp-digital-preamp#6VhR3Vj...


I have not heard this DAC but the company is great and all the reviews I have seen suggest you should look at it.