As always, just look for items you can home demo, or buy used so that you don't take a loss upon resale.
If you're set on buying a new dac, I'd recommend trying to hear as many contenders as possible in your own system. Especially with the pandemic, many places are offering no question returns, and getting 4 or 5 different dacs in the system at once can be an illuminating experience. You can do a bit of blind testing and it'll show you how much (or how little) the different designs matter in your system and to your ears. Plus you'll learn a bit about what reviewers hear things as you do and who to trust for any future purchase recommendations. No shame in blatantly copying those who have ears that hear the same way yours do.
If you're looking for brands, I liked the iFi iDSD pro dac that I tried. Might be worth demoing one of their models that's in your price range. Good features, engineering, and sound quality.
If you're set on buying a new dac, I'd recommend trying to hear as many contenders as possible in your own system. Especially with the pandemic, many places are offering no question returns, and getting 4 or 5 different dacs in the system at once can be an illuminating experience. You can do a bit of blind testing and it'll show you how much (or how little) the different designs matter in your system and to your ears. Plus you'll learn a bit about what reviewers hear things as you do and who to trust for any future purchase recommendations. No shame in blatantly copying those who have ears that hear the same way yours do.
If you're looking for brands, I liked the iFi iDSD pro dac that I tried. Might be worth demoing one of their models that's in your price range. Good features, engineering, and sound quality.