what dacs are fast, lively, energetic?

Benchmark

@ltmandella "Benchmark"

Agree, and it was also the only DAC I ever sent back, fast.

Fast, kind of sterile, and mostly un-engaging for me.

Lesson learned, specs aren’t everything to go off of.

Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty beat my dCS Bartok Apex in every aspect. Ayre has timbre and transient detail like nothing else I’ve heard. I own two QX-5 Twenty and can’t be happier on full R Series. Dac was ~$5k used last year but crept up to $6k due to recent USB2 & NET2 updates. They're worth it.

I’ll agree with the others suggesting Chord. I bought  a qutest with an SBooster and stopped my search. I run luxman and harbeth after the qutest and I was looking for a similar sound that you describe. Pretty great combo for 2k! 

+1 on the Wyred4Sound 10th Anniversary DAC.  Use it in combination with their RECOVERY USB reclocker and RECOVERY DC.  Assure you use your preferred brand USB cable you go for RECOVERY USB instead of what it comes with.  All in under $5k.  Preowned under $2k.  Fast, dynamic, excellent leading edge, excellent timbre, good bass, clear treble without glare, dense images, good staging.