Monarchy 22B is very dynamic and musical. Not SOTA in details but quite good. AES/EBU and coax in. XLR and RCA out. It has a dip switch for doubling output to 6V, for low gain setups. They also have combined DAC/preamp models. The later "piggyback" option is nice too.
Might be able to find a used Benchmark for your budget now but I found those to be system sensitive.
Blindjim, Did you ever get biamped?
Might be able to find a used Benchmark for your budget now but I found those to be system sensitive.
Blindjim, Did you ever get biamped?