What is the best DAC under $3000

I picked up a Wyred4Sound DAC 2 and it is better than the stand alone Sony XA7. Now I am really curious about the PS Audio PWD II. I see a lot of them for sale. Is this an indicator of the performance?

i did something similar (ditched CD and build a PC based system) and listened with my speakers, similar amp, and my music to 4 or 5 dacs from 500 to 3600 bucks. two findings for me. first was that all sounded different. did not expect the difference to be quite so noticeable but it was. second was that with my stuff the "best dac" ie the high rated expensive one, was not the best sounding to me or the witnesses present. I would suggest getting as close to possible to your system in a trial environment and see for yourself. if you cant do that well I guess see about making sure you can return it if you dont like it.

The Bel Canto DAC 3.5 MK II is excellent. It might be slightly out of your price range used. There is one for sale right now on the 'Gon with the VBS power supply for $3,200.

Your budget seems to be at the lower limit of some very nice sounding DAC options you could consider if you can swing $500 to $1,000 more. Some choices include; Metrum Hex, Auralic Vega, and Lampizator L4 G4, to name but a few. At about your price range, one for you to consider that is off the beaten path would be the Yamamoto Soundcraft YDA-01 or YDA-01B.

Ditto Savjam. Had the DAC 3.0VB in my system for a while and it was sublime. Read the reviews of the DAC 3.5VB if you want more info. Best of luck.