DAC recommendation in 5 to 10K range

@phastm3 

Well, it's less than one third the price of the Weiss, why not just get another one for a secondary setup?

I had the pleasure of doing an A/B comparison of Sonnet Morpheus and the Lab12 DAC1 because they were carried by the same dealer, and it was not even funny how the DAC1 was superior to Morpheus in every way. I also don't understand how that reviewer from Alpha Audio came to the conclusion these two sounded similar, because the Morpheus was clearly a lot brighter and more intense to listen to, whereas the DAC1 was simply just so much more easier to listen at louder volume but without sacrificing speed and liveliness. The soundstage for DAC1 was also clearly wider and the bass quality was significantly better. I think I have reached my end-game DAC. Maybe if I strike lottery I might consider listening to DCS Vivaldi or MSB Reference, but I struggle to think how other DAC could get much better than the Lab12. 

I added a Denafrips Gaia DDC to my Terminator (original with DSP upgrade) and used an i2S connection between the Gaia and DAC. I was very surprised by the improvement. More dynamic, smoother sounding, and improved sound stage. 

I've since upgraded to a Terminator Plus which I'm very happy with, but just adding the Gaia to the original Terminator was a very noticeable improvement. 

@auroravengeance im thinking about trying the Teac 701n because it has the analog preamp. I’m using an Aries G2 now, but I plan on selling it. I think the Teac with the Teac external clock might be worth a try

@phastm3 The Teac 701N is pretty good, though at this price point you might want to give Rockna Wavelight a listen too because it has an analog preamp too. I've heard good things too about SPL Director MK2 which is also at this price point. I plan to drop by the showroom sometimes next week to audition SPL stuff, will report my finding on the DAC as well. 

@auroravengeance I tried the wavelight last year. The preamp section is hard to use since you have to use a phone or tablet app to control the volume. The SPL looks interesting.