Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Matt, I"m sure we will talk later today, but it's now time to introduce the Brinkmann Nyquist.  As you know, I loved this DAC the first time I heard it. It was possibly the most pleasing DAC I've head to date.  I'm not sure if it was the most resolving as it was with 50k Wilson's that to me lack detail.  That said, it was very impressive. I got the same response from someone in the industry who isn't the biggest fan of digital.  

What I've found with most any piece of great gear, you can't always tell about how much micro and macro detail you get in the first audition.  That's why I'd love to get one in my room to compare it to my Ayre QX5/20.  I'm also not so sure that these DAC's aren't in the conversation with TotalDAC and the Rossini and some others.  It's not always about price IRT any component.  I've found that too many are priced for the Asian markets (Matt and I always talk about this) and are double priced for the US market and then are HEAVILY discounted making folks think they got this great deal, when in fact if they'd have listened, they weren't.  That business model also devalues said products in the US for those of you who buy and sell often.  

I think the Brinkman costs 14k.  You can listen to it all day long and it was one of the most relaxed digital presentations I"ve ever heard. I just didn't love the system I was listening to, but I was highly familiar with it.  If it had more detail, I would have been loving it.  I think it's time to get the Ayre and Brinkman in (oh the Brinkman was connected to teh Aurender N10. I don't know which USB that they were using. 

@mattnshilp , thanks. Currently I am in the market for a R2R ladder dac, specifically Metrum Pavane level 3. Have you tried that? 

nitewulf, I own a Metrum Pavane Level 3 and I think it sounds great in my system.  This thread is typically devoted to the significantly more expensive DACs Matt is auditioning.

Right, but I am not sure a 40K delta sigma dac using off the shelf chips would necessarily compete with a well made r2r dac, which may be "only" 10K. Basically I am not sure the price is a huge part of this equation, rather designer skill and build quality, surely? Else, one can just buy a DCS or MSB stack and be done with it.

Price can be everything, or nothing. (Oooh, that's deep!)

I don't judge a DAC on price or chip design. I believe that there are good delta Sigma DAC's and bad R2R's. It's the implementation, not the parts that make a DAC good, bad or great.

Most of the DAC's I considered where between $6500 and $14,000. I pushed up my audition prices more recently as my ODSX kept beating everything in that first price bracket. 

Some swear by the Emm Labs DAC2X. Others believe the Lampizator Golden Gate is it. Ayre, Merging Technologies, Playback Design, the new Bribkman, etc. All great. 

Dont discount system matching either. It's super important. 

All that said, Metrum has a great reputation but I am not familiar with it. Apologies.