What is the best sounding DAC at $2000-$4000?

Hottmale

you owe to yourself to audition the bel canto dac3.5 + vbs power supply. Take an extra cash effort but a huge leap in sound. I myself auditioned it just yesterday and i'm about to close the deal.No usb connection but simple solutions to bridge that.

Given your budget criteria I would listen to a Bryston BDA-1. Class A analog outputs make this very musical and smooth sounding. It has USB inputs as well as coax, AES/EBU, Toslink.

another vote for PSA's PWDII. it's the best sounding dac i've ever heard at any price (although i've never auditioned a dac above 10k USD so grain of salt might be required here).

this months review in absolute sound also gave it a thumbs up, even when compared to units costing 2x and 3x as much. it's great for redbook but where it really shines is hi res imho.

forget about usb. i'm not a fan and am yet to hear a usb hook-up that comes close to using the PSA bridge.

best bet is buying a used PWDI and upgrading it to II status and getting the bridge. you're still well south of your budget limits but sacrificing nothing regarding sound.

Easily the PWDII. As the review in the current TAS states, it is "one of the most musical front ends at any price." I couldn't agree more.

HEGEL HD11 best i ever try.