DAC with the best midrange ever.....

I am so sorry to say this to some but The Krell stays!!!! That's not the problem. Its the source I am looking for.I had all the tubes amps you can imagine and finally got out of them. Audio Research Reference Pre and Monos/ Sonic Frontiers / CJ's ( It does not come any sweeter that this and after years I realized thats not the problem. tubes have a special character but that's not the character I am looking for, I gave up more of my music having tubes and we wont discuss about there here)and found out my set up now can be as smooth or even warmer that tubes, patience / cable changes / tweeks and largest investment was time and measuring tapes that got me where I am now.
What I am trying to say is we wont go to other components in this thread and stay with the source issue since that where it lies in my chain. I am sure it varies from system to system.
Thank for the advise though.

You have had 11 CD players, and have listened to yet more. And you are looking for a DAC that is 'musical'. You'll need to help us a little here.

Maybe you need to be more specific about what you are looking for, what music you like, and what you appreciate most when you listen to music. Also, what have you auditioned, and what do you like and don't like about them.

You got a serious case of DACitis.

I agree with Rtnl. The Krell seems to be the synergy problem. I have owned Krell's and liked them a lot, but they are very detailed and lean to the poiny where it can make your source irrelevent. I own the Benchmark also, same issue as the Krell but the sound can be tweaked down the line, where the amp is the end component. If you want musical and melodic, try flipping the amp and see if that makes a difference.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the player I own and that is the GNSC modded Resolution Audio Opus 21. I have an admittedly modest analogue setup, but in comparison the Opus definitely has the qualities that makes analogue so good. It's a very musically involving player.

Lots of good comments here. From the Krell products I have heard, the sound has always been rather sterile, dimensionally flat, but very resolving. I can say the same about Ayre, Spectral, Levinson(Madrigal), Klyne, etc.

I have heard some of Rapogee's digital gear in my system. The Audio Aero Capitole was actually quite impressive. If you don't hear midrange magic here, you need to focus on other links in your system.

A tube amp is not going to affect the performance you seek anywhere near to the same level as a tube line stage. I have been through many tube line/phono stages and amps, and time after time, the tube line stage is the make or break link in the system when it comes to capturing midrange textures, harmonic overtones, ambiance, etc. Drop in a tube line stage preferably one with a tube power supply and compare to the Ayre and you will never go back. And then compare the Audio Aero Capitole with your solid-state DACs to know how good the Audio Aero Capitole truly is.

The problem with changing the amp is that the amp/speaker selection always go hand in hand with each other. Other than impedance matching between line stage and amp, your options on line stages will be far greater.

Another super critical link here is the IC from line stage to amp. Try to audition the Jade Audio Hybrid, Stealth Indra, Purist Dominus to get a feel for how significant these cables in this link can affect the sonic attributes I mentioned above.

I would suggest you hunt down or borrow line stages from Aesthetix, VAC, and BAT as a staring point to get a feeling as to what you are missing here. The Audio Research Reference 1 and 2 line stages do not compete here. As much as you might be a Krell and Ayre fan, these product lines do not excel in the areas for which you seek now. Until you address this, not even the power of the magical DAC from heaven has a chance of shining through.