I have a SUPER-DAC prototype from APL whose DACs in the Esoteric modded APL NWO 3.0 and 4.0SE literally have caused people to sell their vinyl rigs. 20 32-bit 2nd generation AKM Dacs/side, upsampler, 2 NOS-tubed class A output stage, etc., etc., etc. This is the first "stand-alone" DAC box ever designed by Alex Peychev that wasn't based around a transport of some kind.
The performance is nothing short of amazing. Production on APL stand-alone DAC boxes at a lower level should start sometime this year in Europe. As a prototype, the box is pretty rough and it doesn't yet have all the inputs it will be fitted with in final form. It does, however, sound better than anything I heard at CES, including all the well-know stacks and standalone players.
I have no connection to APL and it took me over 18 mos to finally get this SUPER-DAC prototype. It was worth the wait. I am in Denver.