Any superb balanced dacs up to $2,500 used??


I have not posted in a long while, however am testing the waters on dac opinions. Am currently using a Vecteur L-4 cd player full range, that also happens to make a very good transport- preamp is modded Sonic Frontiers Line 3 (fully balanced). What are the some current favorite dacs out there under $2,500 used? (tube or non-tube)- caveat- must have balanced output, and preferably also a true balanced design.

I have owned Emm Labs gear; AA Capitole (both versions); Sim Audio Eclipse (still miss that one- superb for a one-box and IMO much better than the Capitoles); Spectral 3000/Audio Note 3.1x Balanced dac (I loved that combo); etc. But now, I need a more cost-effective solution- yet would like to border on a superb setup once again, hence the idea being a good deal on a used top-performer dac.

The Audiomeca Enkianthus X seems to be ~ $3k asking used, and I am sure could be had for around $2.5k; the Electro ECD-1 is cheaper (~ $1.2k used)but I'm not sure how good it is compared to the others. One consideration is a locally available Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 @ ~ $2.5k used, which I will be auditioning this weekend, along with a rather elusive Forsell Ref dac (but it's more $$). I would pick up an Audiomat Maestro in a second, but they are very elusive and probably not that cheap used. I like insane build quality; heavy duty power supplies, etc., so please no lightweight contenders! If this doesn't work out, I will probably end up going back to the best one-boxer I can find for ~ $3,500 used (most likely the Eclipse).
sutts
Slingshot- didn't realize the Reimyo was under $2,500- hmmm...

Kehut- had a long talk with Steve Nugent a couple o' days ago. He likes the post-mod ECD-1, but his 'baby', or the one that REALLY floats his boat, is the post-mod Perpetual P3A

Loudandclear- never heard the Bidat (had the modded Bitstream/Data II), but thats' cool that the Biday has balanced outs. We took the modded Data II over to a buddys' place, and his Sim Audio Eclipse still killed it- the Data II sounded very dull in comparison

Dimitry/Devon- The Eclipse has a lower noise floor, due in part I am sure to the much more advanced power supply among other things. It has superior bass, tighter and more extended. It also has a wider soundstage than the Cap and superior low-level detail retrieval. The Cap has that nice midrange quality to it though (and I will admit the bass IS bettered in the MK II, but it's still not as good as the Eclipse's). These are both very good machines, and system synergy and sonic attribute-related user preferences will be the deciding factor. i.e. the Cap II allows you to eliminate a preamp and go direct- a crucial $$ factor for some. I could live with either one IN THE RIGHT ACCOMPANYING SYSTEM. The LE version modifies the analog output stage for apparently (haven't heard it yet) an aven smoother sound. Hope that helped.
Sutts,
Given what you said you HAVE owned, (some of the best stuff around) it looks like you're going backwards again. Maybe there's something else wrong in your system that you're blaming your CD player for?
SimAudio might give you detail and bass, but at the expense of harshness/digital sound that evetually wears on you and gives you a headache - typical EAD sound. It can't compete with EMM and A.A.
How about the old world champ........
Sonic Frontiers sfd2 ....pick up mark 1 or 2 versions then send it to Sonic for Mark3 24/96 upgrade. Run signal from D2d upsampler jitter reducer using ISe cable and you will not believe the quality for a price of about $2500. A KILLER
Dan
I've had Electro ECD-1, Bel Canto DAC2, Perpetual Tech P-3A, Birdland Odeon-lite, Audionote DAC4, Classe' DAC1, MSB Gold and others I wont mention in my system. IMO, the only ones that sound good stock are: ECD-1 and Birdland. Even of these, the ECD-1 is a bit warm-sounding and the Birdland has the highest highs rolled-off, but both of these impressed me right out of the box.