older dacs

Thanks for all of the response. I have narrowed it down to an older dac after some input. Something in the $500 range. Has anyone out there spent any time with a theta. I'll let you guys know what ends up on the shelf...

Channel Island audio will be releasing the VDA 2. A completely different dac which will no doubt be near SOTA. It's too much to go into here but check the Channel Island forum at audiocircle.com. Dusty said they should be ready by Christmas. He has been working on this for a while. It will have a gentle sloped filter with the best parts and dac available. With his knowledge and ability it's my best guess it's going to be outstanding at 600.00 new. I'm getting one for Christmas for myself. Don't wait for the reviews or he could end up raising the price. I seriously doubt you'll find much used that would be competitive one on one with this new dac, just my .02 worth.

Watch for Dusty at Channel Island, he's creating some pretty serious giant killers at down to earth prices.
I spoke with him again the other day about his D-200 amps.
This new Dac comes as no surprise, considering how well his D series amps have been received.

Just a plug for a recent Audiogon discovery, the totally revealing Auricle Audio Design Encore Signature digital IC. Lets both tube and solid state DAC's sound so much better than previously in each of my systems where inserted. Both a really old classic Anodyne tube DAC by Scott Nixon, and a less old classic solid state Millennium II DAC by Ric Schultz revealed to be even better than already thought.
The attributes of each DAC honored while seeming to maximally transmit every bit of musicality and detail in any recording.
And, as Gmood1 posted, cymbal reproduction can often signal when a system is optimized. Apparently, what allows cymbals to really distinguish themselves also allows a clearing up or un-jumbling of the rest of the recording.