Some DACs I am Considering-Any thoughts?

I have a little experience with this. I own both the Denefrips Ares and the Holo Audio May Level II. The May is significantly better, though it is also significantly more expensive. Whether you want to pay the extra freight is a value judgment you'll have to make. My guess is that the Pontus outperforms the Ares but I don't imagine it is by a significant margin, but the Pontis would be a reasonable choice.

I have no experience with the other models.

op

i trust you have seen my past comments on the various and numerous dacs i tried in the last year's ... covers several of your candidates

i do agree, the ultimate choice is system dependent

Holo Audio May!!! 

My experience is limited but I have a little experience with the MHDT DACs.  I have the Pagoda (non-balanced) and I really like it but I prefer my Chord Qutest.  The Qutest has better bass and treble extension, and better detail.  The Pagoda definitely is more of an analog and less fatiguing sound, but in my opinion, it's not as true to the source as the Qutest.  My good friend got an Orchid on my recommendation and I'm afraid to say, neither of us liked it very much.  It was much more rolled off than the Pagoda in bass and treble and it overemphasized certain frequencies to a strange degree.  For example, any recording with tape hiss was almost unlistenable because of how the DAC emphasized it.  We thought it was defective but he returned it and the folks at LTA said it was working perfectly.  If you decide to go MHDT, I would go for the Pagoda, especially if your system is a bit on the analytical side.  If you already have some warmth, I might suggest staying away from tube DACs

If you get a r2r dac you may miss the detail, if you get a sigma dac you may miss the analog sound. Maybe take your $2500 and buy a used one of each. Kind of like most people have more than one phono cartridge. I tend to rotate tube r2r and sigma depending on mood or just for a change. I wouldn't want to be without one or the other.