Please Recommend Transport + DAC for $5K total

auxinput: I meant to say I'd never heard of LKS.  

chadlesko; I guess I could give up the "made in N. America" demand and  go with something like a Cyrus, Cambridge or Oppo for a transport, which would allow me to spend more on a DAC. They are all available to demo from online merchants. 

gdhal: I've encountered a variety of opinions re: Yggdrasil. One common observation is that 15 days is an inadequate trial period, due to a very long burn-in time. What was your experience in this regard?

rja: yes: the Exogal looks like a very nice piece. Not sure how I'd demo
 one, though. 

dlcockrum: what you suggest is always good advice but somewhat difficult to execute. I learned "the hard way," early on, that in-store demos are unreliable indicators of how a system might sound in different surroundings. 

rhljazz: I'm concerned about longevity, so anything described as "old" concerns me.  

stereo5: Yes; which is why I said "North America", not USA! 

auxinput: I've heard of LKS. Will look into it. This may be a stupid question, but where do I get info re: whether a given transport has "good digital clocks and linear power supply"? Reviews? 

whart: The Sim you mention is a top contender for me as a transport, too.
Never heard of Border Patrol. Will look into it. 

shadorne: I recognize, rationally, the sense of what you're saying about playback. However, the thought of scanning all my CDs sounds very unappealing. While I may have no choice in the end, I'm keeping my head in the sand for awhile longer.  

gdhal: Thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed response re: Yggy warmup, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've come across forums where Yggy owners insist the unit must be kept on all the time. 

Other matters have unavoidably  pulled me away from this thread but I do appreciate all the input-- collectively, you've provided a lot of info to chew over! 

Not many choices for gear I can try out at home and return, if necessary. A Cambridge CXC and Schiit Gumby looks like a good pair to try. I've read that the DAC section in the Simaudio Neo 260D is comparable to the stand alone Neo 280D-- not sure how accurate this claim is, but the Neo 260 looks very attractive. I've e-mailed Simaudio, asking about this.  Unfortunately, I can't bring one home. While I could lug my Wells amp, Silverline monitors, and CDP to the dealer in S.F., given the insane Bay Area traffic, and my inability to factor in the influence of the dealer's room, that option is not exactly a siren song. Has anybody here used the CXC + Gumby combination???