What is the best sounding DAC at $2000-$4000?

Getting the PWD MKII would offer the additional benefit of network streaming if you get the bridge - this will sound better than USB. I would get one used and give it a whirl.

Thank you very much for your suggestions because truthfully that is all I can ask for because I do understand it will vary from system to system. I have heard the Weiss and Auralic on my system and on my friends system; truthfully I was surprised at how close they sounded because they are not close in price. I will look around my area and try and find an Ayre dealer and a couple of other DACs that were mentioned.

Should I step up another $1000 and look at more expensive DACs or does it make that much of a difference? According to several friends of mine you will get in to the law of diminishing returns.

Hottmale

you owe to yourself to audition the bel canto dac3.5 + vbs power supply. Take an extra cash effort but a huge leap in sound. I myself auditioned it just yesterday and i'm about to close the deal.No usb connection but simple solutions to bridge that.

Given your budget criteria I would listen to a Bryston BDA-1. Class A analog outputs make this very musical and smooth sounding. It has USB inputs as well as coax, AES/EBU, Toslink.

another vote for PSA's PWDII. it's the best sounding dac i've ever heard at any price (although i've never auditioned a dac above 10k USD so grain of salt might be required here).

this months review in absolute sound also gave it a thumbs up, even when compared to units costing 2x and 3x as much. it's great for redbook but where it really shines is hi res imho.

forget about usb. i'm not a fan and am yet to hear a usb hook-up that comes close to using the PSA bridge.

best bet is buying a used PWDI and upgrading it to II status and getting the bridge. you're still well south of your budget limits but sacrificing nothing regarding sound.