I owned the Levinson 390S and Wadia 850 as well as Accuphase DP 65. All three of these were embarassed by the 47Labs Shigaraki Dac and Flatfish transport. Don't get me wrong, they are all fine players in their own right, but music is simply rendered in a more organic and human way with the non oversampling/filterless combo. Audio Note also has some exceptional DACS. BTW, the Levinson was not finicky.
Best CDP in the $4k to $8k range
I just sold my Simaudio Moon Nova and am in search of a replacement. At the moment, listening to CDs on an Arcam. I have listened to a bunch lately - notably the Simaudio Eclipse SE (which I thought was great, but might suffer from a slightly bright uppermid), the Esoteric DV50 (which lacked the openness and extension of the eclipse), Mark Levinson 390S (which seemed a tad dry and reportedly suffers from reliability issues). The Wadia 861b was suggested to me and I will find time to listen to it. The Audio Aero Capitole also might be a contender. The rest of my system consists of a Placette active preamp, CJ Premier 11a, Revel Gems and B15 sub, Shunyata PCs and Hydra, and Sistrum rack. Those familiar with these CDPs, please help! Thanks.