Good DAC to go with a Pioneer PD-65 as a transport

I can recommend a used monarchy 22a or 22b ....

.. however my recommendation is not on the basis of A/B comparisons with other DACs ... it is because ..

1) you can get it for $250 used.
2) it sounded significantly better than a stock Marantz CD67SE ... no slouch in itself.

Big bang for the buck. Made even better with the addition of the monarchy DIP for an extra $100.

I'm sure others will give you recommendations for more expensive DACs, which may be better than the Monarchy, if your budget permits. However I think the used Monarchys are good value for money.

I used a PD 65 with a full blown Audio Alchemy rig, DDe V3.0, DTi Pro and Monolithic sound power supply. Always pleased.

What is your budget? The rest of your system?

Glide3
Good question on the budget. How much should one spend on a DAC for a machine that only cost $400 used? Certainly not more that a grand, I suppose. The rest of the system is as follows:
Aerial 10T's powered by BAT VK60 monoblocks and a BAT VK5i preamp. I'm thinking of adding a pair of SS mono's for the low end of the 10T's. Right now I am using a Classe CAV500 (my HT amp - which isn't installed in my HT room yet) to power the Aerial's bottom end. It's pretty nice! Do you have a idea for a DAC yet?
Thanks

1. Kora Hermes
2, Birdland Odeon Lite or AG

Bel Canto DAC 1. Excellent unit. Smooth, rich and nicely detailed. You can't go wrong with it.

You've got a very nice system and that is a very good transport in it's stock form...even better with some of the $500-$1000 mods available. It can support a pretty good dac.
In the sub $1000 price range the belcanto and evs and birdland would be good choices.
For a bit over $1000 the new belcanto sounds interesting and the kora hermes in it's price range is a nice piece.
I've used my modded pd-75 with an Audio-Logic 2400 and the sound is excellent and the modded transport certainly keeps pace with this fine dac ($5000 retail/$2000used).