What's the best Dac for the money


I've been looking for a Dac , approx to spend $5-7 k here is a list I've tried calyx femto $7000 very good but very sterile , Abington research $4000 but found it had no soul $4500 , then a friend told me about a Dac by audio horizon and a trial program they have with there gear , interested buyers can try it on there systems , so I arranged to get one shipped for trial

This Dac was really something micro detail a lot better than the others soundstage was huge , bottom end better especially for a $3500 price tAg compared to the others , I just want to know if others had the same results , as I forward the money for purchase this Dac this audio horizon Dac is the real deal , it surprises me on every cd
pavpet
The dac in the Vitus RCD-101 sacd player. The RCD-101 sounds better than the previous Signature Series player (SCD-010) which was awesome! I rate it above MSB and many other dacs like DCS, Emm etc for musicality. I would also easily vote for the RCD-101 as "Best cd player for the money".
You should check out the PS Audio Direct Stream. It is an "ear-opener" for Redbook and has SOTA capabilities for hi-res and DSD. beautiful looking too.

Neal
Has anyone here heard the Aqua Hifi La Scala MKII DAC? The price is at the upper end of the OP's range ($6,800 USD), which puts it below the upper Lampizator and Rowland DACs, and about equal to the Empirical ODSE. It has received several very positive reviews but hardly any comments here.
John Darko review of Aqua HiFi La Scala MKII
I'd suggest the Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 DSD SE with Femto clock upgrade, all for under 3K.