Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Empirical Audio moving from R2R  to delta sigma is certainly against the gain /current popular trend. Unquestionably implementation is the dominant determinate. 
Charles 

Steve, thanks for speaking up about 'the best way to build a DAC'.  For those who say one is superior to Delta Sigma, you can't make that statement. It's just not true.  If you feel that way for YOUR DAC's that's fine, but personal.  Many of us have owned both and liked the D/S ones that we've purchased better.  Implementation.  Many other factors.  

Steve N,
Very interesting, D’Agostino and SET tube amp would seem to occupy polar ends of the amplifier spectrum (topology and philosophically).  What do they share in common for both to warrant your recommendation?
Charles

With all due respect to George I’m inclined more toward Elizabeth’s explanation in attributing the void or black hole effect to the recording method or process.
  I don’t believe that delta sigma can be the blamed in a broad brush fashion as the culprit.

 I love the fact that there are so many manufacturers now bringing back R2R Multibit, even though many are now mostly discrete ladder, and expensive to make, and shrugging off dsd, for better pcm replay.
It says to me  there was something about PCM conversion that was not quite right when done with DS conversion.

Owning and doing many mods for myself and customers on both with I/V stages and output stages from the very first DS mash players and R2R players And listening to many.
 There is something missing with DS when it has to convert PCM, it's not just an emptiness, but missing a bogie factor that gives excitement to the music, and a snap your head back slam, even though the DS measurements show better sn/dr figures.

It's as though DS converting PCM is most of the time too polite, eg: boring. But it does do dsd/sacd well, but I still find it lacking in excitement with these formats especially sacd..

Cheers George