I have the Wyred for sound 10th anniversary dac, and it has the ESS sabre 9038 pro chip and this is one of the most analog sounding DACS that I have had in my system, one of the reviewers put it up against his VPI turntable with a $5,000 cartridge and he says this DAC was every bit as analog sounding as his turntable and I agree.
AKM makes the best DACs
OK, before you flame a reply to my heading please read this section.
It is a terrible idea to judge a DAC based on the chip. I don't think consumer's should ever do that. I think there is a lot that goes into a good external DAC unit and the converter chip is just one of many factors that go into the final sound.
Having said that, it turns out I tend to like the sound of DACs with AKM chips over most others. A long time ago I would have said the same about Burr Brown.
For converters which use an all in one chip what is the brand you find yourfself more likely to like the sound of vs. not?