Best DAC?

The best dac is the best one , for your ears ! Musicality, “natural” , detailfull … For me , it is the Metronome technologie C6 !

I have owned or tested in my system almost all DACs mentioned here: Audio GD, Orchid, Lampizator Big7, Bricasti, Trubadour. Most of them are fine DACs, very resolving, precise, musical and overall pleasing. However my personal preference goes to Audio Note 4.1, EAR Yoshino DAC 4 and SW1X DAC 3 which can be found on S/H market in your budget. You will notice that almost all DACs mentioned here are R2R DACs with Philips TDA1541 chip. This is not a coincidence. Many audiophiles appreciate R2R DACs and that particular Philips chip. 

@ geleary123: Here it is: the Khadas Tone Board KTB DAC! $90! You supply the case and 5 volt DC power supply. It has near SOTA specs! Khadas also has a complete DAC for $199 for those not into DIY.

I own s KTB in a custom case!

erastof, I know that you asked for the best DAC up to $5,000. My personal favorite is the Chord Hugo TT2 which I have in my headphone system now. Yes it does retail at $5,495, but I was able to get mine for a very good price, and they are widely available at a discount if one only takes the time to investigate. The strength of the TT2 is in the amount of detail retrieval it achieves and in the musicality of how this DAC sounds when compared to other products at a similar price pont.