Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Thanks for that great post Dave.  Appreciated.  Irony is that I heard the Ayre QX5 (the one I currently own) vs the T+A DAC in a system I was pretty familiar with and to my ear it wasn't close.  It shouldn't be since the Ayre goes for a bit under 6k to 8500 or so, but often times when folks claim a 4500 component sounds better than 'anything' under 10k is fallacy and hyperbole.  I have loved the Ayre Codex at under 2k.  I felt that it bettered most of the DACs I heard under 5k, but that was a few years ago. It's still a killer for the price, but with all the new dAC's out there under 5k things have changed and will continue to change.  

We all win out, but the one thing that we have all concluded is that digital is SOOOO system dependent.  I have heard my own DAC in a few different systems now.  Each time it was allowed to stay on for a few days and it sounded different.  It's got the same sound signature an all, but I haven't loved it in every system.  I can honestly say that every DAC that I've heard in multiple systems has sounded differently than I remember.  Not scientific, but most of you understand my point.  So many variables and between electric and which type of connection you use.......;). YMMV.  

Ctsooner,
Yes we all have come across audio components that we find consistently very good sounding and we like to  share this with others. I don’t question that Audiotroy finds the T+A DAC sounds impressive. However rarely do I find the following phrases to apply when comparing high quality components.
"Nothing touches it"
"Blew the others away"
"Smoked everything "
"Made the other sound broken"

Of course I hear differences and prefer one component over a competitor when comparing but not to the degree of the above often used phrases I listed..YMMV.
Charles

I would suggest the Schiit modi multibit. I think still at $249. I have both that and 10x more expensive Schiit Yggdrasil. For redbook they sound darn similar and very pleasant. I find the diminishing returns curve very steep for digital. Get the modi and spend your savings on good headphones or speakers.

Well said @ dlcockrum!!

Good post acoustic, I would only add that the rest of one's system needs to be capable of resolution and detail, which no doubt someone said already in this very long thread( no way I"m going to read all 4000 posts!)

With my current system I can't hear much in the way of differences between two very different stand mount speakers, but I'm waiting for a better pre amp, for starters.  I've got the Bifrost Mulibit, btw, and yes one can save and go with the Modi.  The Modi doesn't have the latest Schiit USB standard, however, if that matters to anyone.