I purchased a Camelot Uther IV DAC with analog volume control several year ago and haven't looked back. I have used it direct (no pre amp) into a pass labs ALEPH 5 and Rogue Audio M150 with great success. I highly recommend the IV which uses the anagram chip for upsampling. I have seen them used on audiogon for around $1,400. The Uther III was reviewed in Stereophile several years ago and was rate class A.
Good luck
Good luck