I'd second the Havana. I had one for about six months and was impressed with it (paired with a USB converter though). Switched to a tube audio designs tadac (previous version), threw in a set of mullard 12au7s (the Chinese stock tubes are horrible), paired it with my empirical audio USB converter and couldn't be happier. Only betters the Havana because it has a built in preamp so I run it straight to my rogue amp. I've owned a lot of USB dacs and this setup beats them all in my setup.
Got any DAC suggestions for a Mac Mini server?
I would like to optimize my Mac Mini as a music server. I have a rather complicated stereo/home-theater system at home. I play vinyl records most of the time, but sometimes I am lazy and don't want to play DJ. My MacMini does not sound bad, but I would like it to sound good enough that I don't get irritated when I listen to it. My system has two different pre-amps; a Manley Shrimp which is mainly the conduit from my turntable and an NAD T163 which manages the home theater. I would be able to hook up a DAC to either one, or I could skip the preamps entirely and hook the DAC directly into the Manley Skipjack that keeps the preamps separate. My speakers are all RBH Signatures and the mains (RBH 1266SE) are bi-amped using a Marchand crossover--Manley Neo-Classic SE/PP 300B amps up top and NAD T973 for the bottom. I don't know much about computer based audio, but I have been tempted by the Peachtree Audio Decco2 as a DAC. I do not want to spend more than $1000 on a DAC at this time. Any suggestions?