what dacs are fast, lively, energetic?

Suggest the Holo Audio May.  There are different versions that are in your price range.  

wow did not expect so many great responses

thanks so much

yes I have a very fast muscial fidelity m6s500 amp and speakers that can keep up, wharfdale elysians that I believe use Scanspeak's mid tier drivers with amt's on top

the above combo imo is very near endgame for me and has exceeded much more expensive rigs in my home at a somewhat beer budget relative to so many super costly higher end rigs today

I've short listed Chord (not the Dave though too much $$$),

Weiss 205,

Gustard X30

might try the Laiv Harmony due to the high praise of its r2r attributes and I can re-sell easily

owned the Benchmark, found it sterile

owned the RME akm and found it fast  with the phenomenal asscoaited feature set and also....that unit above and beyond most dacs (even those with built in "preamps") was incredible driving power amps directly (an an example the Benchmark was not even though they stated otherwise) I may also eventually move to their pro se model with external power supply

thanks again all, this should keep me busy and working/saving for 2025!

I have a Gustard X-30 and I've very happy with it. 

The British Audiophile recently posted a video of his top picks for 2024. The X-30 is mentioned at around the 18:00 mark. Link below.  I feel that he's very truthful with his reviews. 

https://youtu.be/5z1jZ9I6tNM?si=rd375hnTOfXPnmeR

Chord for sure. 

Chord +1

I believe they use a very sharp/steep filter. Their DACs have great detail and attack