I am looking for a smoothest sounding outboard DAC

Kora Hermes tube dac. Dynamic, liquid, rich and very, very smooth. I owned Bel Canto Dac 2 before and the Hermes walked all over it. The best dac south of $4K I've ever heard.

I'd look at Audio Note DACs.

KF

I'd have to say that the Dodson 217 MKII D (the latest iteration, recently discontinued) is the best bargain on the used market: retailed for $5995, can be had for around 3k. There's a very good reason this dac is used by many audio societies; I found the sweet AND detailed sound to my liking, as well. I owned the Bel Canto dac immediately before...no contest (of course, for the price difference, there shouldn't have been). It loved my CEC transport, BTW. I am curious why Dodson gets so little respect from 'gon-ners? Could it be that he is a self-marketer? A bonus: Ralph is great to deal with, patiently helping you get the most out of his design. Try getting THAT service with corporate gear!

In my experience the Zanden 5000 and Audio Note DAC 4.1x Sig., both with no brickwall digital filters, are the best sounding dacs by far. I would also include the DAC5 Special, but it adds little over the DAC 4 Sig.