Since we are going down the Solder hole here has anyone seen any audio equipment using other means of connections, other then clip on connectors usually used at speaker driver terminals? I’ve used wire wrap connections in military grade equipment because it can give a better connection that is more vibration and shock resistant but not sure how it would be for audio signals. Very time consuming compared to a soldered joint but maybe could give a different ( better- worse) sound then solder.
Hay OP not to hijack your thread here with the above, but have you though about a quality switching box like the ones Decware make, many options even can get a volume control on it to make a passive pre. This may work for the short time using your existing DAC.
http://www.decware.com/newsite/ZSB.html
may other to chose from this is just one example.