DAC Choices - $5,000 to $7,000

@mitch2 Congrats!  Really looking forward to reading your impressions.  Obviously you greatly enjoyed the MV3 given that you upgraded.  Interested to read about how much of a change the new unit is.  Glad you'll have the old one on hand so you can do a little A/Bing.

Been playing with USB cables here.  
After using I2S for so long, I forgot how much USB "stuff" I had accumulated that I could try.  Cables by Totaldac, Curious, and Wireworld, plus the dual run Gemini cable by ifi.  I also have the W4S Recovery, ifi USB filter, and the ifi iPower that can be used to separate the power leg of a USB cable, particularly the Gemini.  My Antipodes DX G3 server has both powered and unpowered USB ports so I can use the Gemini cable without the iPower by connecting the power leg to the powered USB port and the signal leg attached to the unpowered port, so the signal does not travel in proximity of the power, or I can use the iPower but that requires another short USB cable between the powered port of the DX to the iPower (I have very short USB cables by both Curious and Wireworld for that purpose).

No clear winner yet.... 
Curious (yellow) - Really nice body, good tone, smooth, a little "thick" sometimes
Wireworld Starlight 7 - Smooth but maybe a little thin sounding
ifi Gemini - Good but not great across the board, a little recessed, competent
Totaldac d1 - Clear, good tone, near-neutral on the thick/thin scale, quite musical

I am starting to remember why I didn't like USB...none are perfect (at least yet) and while differences are mostly subtle, I do hear differences.  So far, I think the best two are either Totaldac d1 (probably first place) and Curious with or without the Recovery and with or without the ifi USB filter.  I think the benefit of the Recovery may be a little greater with the Curious but the benefit of using the Recovery and/or the ifi USB filter are subtle at best, and maybe a wash, so I need to listen more to be certain.

Interesting that Benjamin has discussed with me how much better S/PDIF can sound through a good Ethernet to XLR, AES/EBU, or S/PDIF converter, which is why he has included the S/PDIF signal path upgrades on all future EVOs, including the one I am getting.  I know on my Metrum Adagio, the I2S input from the Ambre converter sounded best, but was very closely followed by AES/EBU from the same converter, which was a little bolder with great bass.   I will be very interested in hearing AES/EBU out of the Ambre and into the EVO. 

@mitch2, can you explain the differences you hear between the V3's SPDIF and USB interface?   I've been using SPDIF (with a Shunyata Anaconda ZTRON cable) for years, and the Mystique V3 is the first DAC I've tried with USB.    I actually prefer the SPDIF (fed from a Bricasti M5).   I find the SPDIF to offer more detail and excitement while the USB to be more recessed and mellow.  If my system was more forward or bright, I maybe would prefer the USB.   To be fair I have no idea how my Luna Orange USB cable compares with my Shunyata cable as I've not compared it with any other USB cables.   The M5 might just sound better with SPDIF too.   It's nice having a streamer with multiple outputs but it is extra work to find the best match with your current DAC, not counting cable differences...

Cheers

@ddafoe There are so many variables, I would not be much help.  In my system, for USB I come directly out of the USB port of the Antipodes DX G3 server with a 1M USB cable.  For S/PDIF, I run 9 feet of Ethernet from the DX to a Metrum Ambre converter/endpoint and then a short S/PDIF cable to the DAC.  There are some handicaps in that my S/PDIF cables are not of the same caliber as my USB cables and my better S/PDIF cable (Oyaide DB-510) has BNC terminations, so I am using BNC/RCA adaptors at each end of the cable.  OTOH, with the USB input I position the DAC closer to the DX server so I have to use a longer pair of interconnects.  Too many trade-offs to make a consistent judgement, except that as you pointed out, I too lose a little edge (detail and excitement?) through the USB input.  When I get the EVO, I plan to spend more time figuring out how to optimize the sound through its upgraded S/PDIF input, probably using AES/EBU, but but I will certainly try USB as well.

@mitch2 Perhaps you've found it doesn't matter with your gear, but best practice is to have your spdif cables be 1.5m (or longer) to prevent digital signal reflection induced smearing. At < 1.5m you run a small risk of having a signal go down the cable, reflect back to the source, and then reflect back to the output time aligned with the next part of the digital signal.