Looking for DAC suggestions

I just re-auditioned a Benchmark and still liked it. I will be buying one in the near future. They are hard to beat for the money. jallen

Thanks for all the responses. It sounds like perhapse my initial idea of using my NAD as a transport is not the best idea. So would it be better to go the dac/transport route or new cd player route? Sorry for all the questions, I'm really more of a phono guy...

Thanks,
Foo

try finding a used Audio Note DAC; you will not be disappointed. Preferably a 2.1 or better.

You won't know your dac until you have a decent transport. I have a Scott Nixon TubeDac. Even though non-oversampling dacs are less susceptible to jitter, transport quality makes a very large difference. My system sounded very smooth and musical when I was using my Cary 303 as a transport, but somewhat brittle, unbalanced and boomy using a Tosh dvd player as a transport.

I amusing a Dodson DAC-263 with my Arcam FMJ-23T as a transport and an i2Digital digital cable. The Dodson DAC is wonderful. It is very detailed an has expanded and deepened the soundstage. It is also very musical and not overly etched if you know what I mean