DAC Suggestions Please

OP it’s a great question and I look forward to reading the replies in a moment. Like you perhaps I have an external DAC on my wish list. I certainly want to access full MQA decoding as well uptick the potential contribution of DACS in my system. Like you I rely on various internal dacs in my sources Oppo SE, Cocktail X40 and AV8802A SE.

Thanks for raising this question. Corollary questions around chip vs R2R designs, budget and functionality are in my mind too.

Wishes trying to be horses 🐎...

... and heck, you can get a current production NAIM amp for $1300 on the used market. New ones, the same product, are $4000.

It does not have USB in. This is a good thing for me, b/c NAIM did not include USB due to how dirty the signal is, or was back when they began manufacturing in 2009. Honestly, they have been in production since 2009. Now, it is 9 years later, and it is still their "go to" DAC, b/c the internal circuitry is so good and the sound is still right on with PRAT and very clean, resolving, and musical in its own right.

And "old" doesn't mean bad. Remember, in order for Mike Moffat of Schiit to spend 5 years developing the flagship Schiit Yggy DAC, he went back to the 1917 Western Electric research/white papers to get info to make a praiseworthy modern DAC (Yggy). 

I just stumbled upon some links to Soekris. They have some very interesting dacs. The 1421 is priced around 1060 EUR. Make sure you check that VAT is included in the price listings.

http://www.soekris.eu/shop/index.php

The 1421 is priced around 1060 EUR.

The 1421 se is 850euro's, even better deal than the 1541 xlr at 1290euro's 

http://soekris.dk/dac1421.html