Well, as noted, you can only get "so much" from bookshelf speakers - and frankly i dont know which ones are good. But if you can place speakers in free space on stands - consider used Vandersteen 2s (any vintage that hits your pricepoint) or Spica TC-50s with significant money lef over to get a decent active subwoofer. ELACs too.
The SMSL DAC is pretty decent, but hardly better than the $99 Schiit, and not as good as an ALLO revolution (with a very good external power supply) IMO. A buddy of mine slowly stepped up through he DAC hierarchy not long ago, beginning with a bluesound (yawn) to the Schiit (surprisingly good) the SMSL (meh) and the ALLO.
True bookshelf speakers are tuned to deal with some of the compromises, but read carefully about setup. and you cannot fight the laws of physics re: imaging. or much else :-)
enjoy.