Hey Terrapin,
Fellow Deadhead here. While you’ve gotten some excellent advice here so far, I’ll put in a vote for a vintage DAC that support HDCD. All of the official releases, new box sets, Dick’s and Dave’s Picks releases are still encoded with it. Does it make a huge difference? I don’t know, but there’s a reason they still master these tracks with it about 20 years after the heyday of Pacific Microsonics (pre Microsoft). There’s maybe something a bit psychosomatic about seeing the HDCD light illuminate when you pop on a disc. I’ve only heard the PMD100 version DACs, never the PMD200 version. Not many DACs or disc spinners have that option. You can find killer DACs for 1/4 your budget too. I’ve owned modern DACs, but none sound as good to my ears as the UA20400 or BB PCM63 based DACs. I live quite happily with my mid-90’s era DACs with cutting edge technology of the day. I may be a little out of step, but man they bring a smile to my face. Favorite DACs include the Proceed DAP, Parasound 2000, Classe, Sonic Frontiers and many others. Magnificent imaging and soundstage depth. Give them a try! The money you save can buy you the next 10 years of Dave’s Picks. :^)