$1000 should be spent for a NOS DAC or a turntable?

+1 mzkmxcv! The proliferation of DAC's (especially the expensive ones) is a marketing ploy to extract more money from the gullible and neurotic! I still prefer and use one-box CD players!

Thank you all for your valuable input. I was not aware turntable route demands money and time.

I will go for a DAC then, when my budget allows more I will go for a decent turntable with matching accessories.

My current system is Quad 909/99, Devore Nines. As for DAC, there are some candidates I found so far:
-Schiit Yggy (easy to find a used one in market)
-Audial Model S (more rare, not popular)
-Metrum Acoustics Menuet (not as rare as the Audial but still difficult to find one)

The used ones cost about $1500. I can stretch a little bit to avoid future update (hopefully).

Best,
Huy.

It sounds like you have it sorted, but at that budget I'd say a DAC, no question. You can get the non-SE, coax-only Border Patrol for just under your budget and have a very, very musical DAC. Might not be the best measuring, but whatever.

I just recently got back into CDs (not a streaming guy) from a turntable and while I still use both, you cannot argue the sound quality of a good transport, good dac, and very, very cheap media. If you can or want to stream music, then that's even more reason.