What's the greatest bargain in DAC's these days?

@Mapman- Yes, with the rDAC Arcam was licensing USB technology from dCS. With irDAC they have used trickle down technology from their own reference D33 DAC. The irDAC also comes with a remote which the rDAC does not have. In the near future I hope to try an irDAC and compare it with my rDAC.

I am wondering if any of the sub $1000 class DACs are any better than the M1, different maybe, but better? Especially when using a USB/SPDIF converter.

The greatest DAC bargain these days is the PS Audio DirectStream DS DAC that can be had for as little as $3500 used on Audiogon.

Not exactly cheap, but I would still call the Vitus RD-100 a high end bargain given it has modular construction like the Signature Series, making it easy to upgrade the dac as new/upgraded modules become available in future. The RD-100 uses technology from the awesome Signature Series SCD-010 cdp/dac, but pushes the performance to the next level resulting in even better sound. It is also a preamp well done & has two analogue inputs, an array of digital inputs & an improved version of Vitus's relay-based volume control, meaning you only need add a power amp, speakers & digital source (eg: Mac Mini, Server, laptop) and you're done!

I heard quite a few DACs
If you have some DIY skills the best value DAC is the DDAC This is capable of going up against the big boys. Close behind (very close) is the JK Cunas. If you want to go via SPDI then the Caiman mk2 via a battery is pretty hard to beat