Best used DAC 500 or less, need help

Enlightened Audio designs 7000 Mark III is very musical you won't do better for $500

Check out a Meridian 263 or 563. You can get the first for well under 500 - just as important is the cable. Illuminati D60 is excellent and used by many but there are other good ones to...

How about a DAC that sounds just as good as the Wadia? Believe it or not, a Stan Warren modified MSB will do just that! Currently there are over a dozen audiophiles in the US using Stan Warren digital front ends in $30k+ systems. These guys (and myself) could spend much more on digital, but we've found it very hard to get better sound than Stan Warren's modified gear. I think that many audiophiles don't take his work seriously becuase its so damn inexpensive.

I'll second Phild's EVS Millennium DAC recommendation. The parts in the DAC 1, if it were produced by a major manufacturer, would mandate a $2000 price tag or higher, but if you can find one used you can probably get it for around $400. The DAC II upsamples and I believe reduces jitter, but that will probably run more in the $700-$800 range, which is still an outrageous bargain if you can find one. I had a modified MSB Link DAC that was good, but the EVS DAC 1 just walked all over it in terms of transparency, dynamics, tonality, and soundstaging--not even close. Obviously it's important to get a good digital cable, but if you don't want to spend a bundle you can pick up an Apogee Wyde Eye at Guitar Center for around $30 that will get you started nicely. Best of luck.

Tim

Look for a Cal Audio Sigma.

It doesn't have the lastest D/A chips, but
it's tube audio stage blows away the opamps
used in all the DACs above.