Upgrading to a stand alone DAC

helomech, thank you very much for the time you took to provide some great info!

soix, not to be too generic, I am looking to increase soundstage and to pull out more details

I’d think either the Gustard R26 or the new Denafrips Ares 15th would be a meaningful improvement in all areas.  Best of luck. 

There are a few used Denafrips Pontus II 12th units for sale at the moment.  They all are in your price range and would give you what you are looking for.  You can add the Iris or Hermes DDC later as well which uses the I2S input and increases resolution, soundstage and imaging.

Denafrips R2R DACs are hard to beat for the price.

Forgot to mention, don’t discount the importance of a digital cable and choose with care as it can make a big difference in how much you get out of a DAC.