So many great dacs mentioned here. The Abbas is one that is quite special. But outside of something along the tube Dac offerings out there - which seem to bring something exceptional to the presentation - you should look into new designs like the Harmony Laiv Dac. It’s already considered to meet or exceed the level of the Terminator 2, yet with its it own unique signature. I know it’s cheaper than others here at only $2700, but the tech associated with dacs and streamers tend to move so quickly, that it’s good to consider designs that are doing as well (or better) at a lower cost.
Another example that was mentioned here was the Okto Research Dac 8 stereo which is my current Dac. Offering this one as an example to this point, in that its SO good that I wouldn’t touch another Dac unless it was very, very unique and caused me to make a different turn in my system. It was reviewed to meet the level of dacs in the 5k range, and it was only around $1200 used. And I can attest to the its capabilities, as its attributes only become more and more apparent as I upgrade any other part of my system.