A DAC that can make digital sound analog?

@maplegrovemusic 

i now have reel to reel tape in my system. With this extra point of reference, now having heard vinyl, tape and digital, I can really hear ‘digital’ when I listen to it.

depth of soundstage is compressed, the glass between me and ‘the event’ seems thicker and performers more pressed up agaianst it. glare cuts through at moments, glare also enlarges and distorts the scale of instruments. and there seems to be less contrast, less quiet, less space for me and my ears. It’s a bit like digital is shouting at all times (regardless of volume), like digital is an ‘all on’ proposition with no off.

n80
”The Heart wants what it wants - or else it does not care”

Emily Dickinson

Yes he hit the nail on the head. We hear what we want to hear. There are as many different signature sounds coming from different DAC designed chips, different DAC configurations, budget and older ones. Transports and AC supply can introduce noise and change the sound. Different manufacturers with philosophies and implementation which have altered approaches. Having said all that, we all like what WE ourselves like.
Same with speakers, turntables, amps and preamps.
Someone told me once that the pops and clicks on most albums can be eliminated, since quite often that sound does not come from scratches, but dirt and debris deep in the grooves of the album. A good deep cleaning can really clear that noise out, but how many analog audiophiles have the tools and take the time to do that? Perhaps some audiophiles like the sound of those pops and clicks on albums  for nostalgic, sentimental or other reasons. We like what we like...

depth of soundstage is compressed, the glass between me and ‘the event’ seems thicker and performers more pressed up agaianst it. glare cuts through at moments, glare also enlarges and distorts the scale of instruments....

I suggest you use reference quality CDs for your evaluation. Chesky Records offers one for testing system performance. Or use a known high quality source recording; it should sound spacious and transparent. 

The fact that you experience glare on playback points toward the shortcomings of your DAC or DAC/transport. The other flaws you're hearing may also be attributed to the DAC.

I feel like there needs to be some Cohesity between your system and DAC. I recently went all ATC pre/amp/speakers and tried the Bluesound and absolutely hated the sound. My wife nailed it by saying it was so bright it was obnoxious. I pulled out my old Slimdevices Transporter with the AKM4396 DAC and it does a great job converting to analog. Throw a hi-Rez file at it and it is like a warm drink on a winter day. 
I can tell I will need to audition future DACs on my system or it will be an expensive case of musical chairs.

Fwiw, I prefer 24 bit files via my Ayre QB-9 to my vinyl rig (Kenwood 500 with Benz Micro and Ayre PX-5 phono).