Best sounding new DAC under $2500?

I haven't seen a price yet for the ModWright Elyse. If I were looking for a DAC, I would do nothing until this piece went into production. I also heard a rumor that Coincident is working on one. If true, this could also be a piece worth waiting a bit for.

Check out the Chord QuteEX and the new Chord Hugo. The Hugo is meant to be a portable device, but Chord is calling it a Reference Product, which means a lot for them to say, just a portable DAC. They basically put their $25,000 DAC that was under development into a portable product. It is just shipping but there are a lot of very favorable comments out there. There is a long thread on Head HiFi about the Hugo, since it is a portable device. The QuteHD is also very good if you do not need 2x DSD or 384KHz. Chord does not use a commercial DAC chip but rather they do there own coding for the conversions. That gives them a lot more flexibility than most manufacturers. And, it seems to be producing excellent products.

Take a look at Benchmark, various models from $1K-$2K, based on the features. Yes, I own one and use it as a headphone driver amp. Well reviewed and well liked by the audio press, Stereophile Class A.

Should say, "It is NOT just a portable DAC". Even though the Hugo is a portable DAC, it is a standout as a stand alone DAC also.

For some reason, the edit function is not working. Sorry.

Another good Dac for the price is the BMC Pure Dac.