Recommend a DAC for my system....please.

I forgot to add, I'm trying to get that lush, warm, musical sound(isn't everyone). My speakers don't help much in that dept.(a bit on the bright side, great for HT though).
Getting my hands on some Golden Cross interconnect cables next week which should "warm" things up.

Sonic Frontier Processor 3, should be a good choice for your "moody" music taste.

Otherwise, try cheaper model, SFD2MKII, or Audio Synthesis DAX2SE.

ML will be a wrong choice. Go for an Audio Note 3.1x.

I would suggest a Muse Model Two Plus.

You can get a P1A/P3A w/Monolithic sound PS for really good prices right now. If you can find one with the Modwright Mods, this is a really nice unit.

Try finding a Chord 64DAC and a CEC TL2X transport. Warmth, speed, bass-all the right stuff in spades. Very musical. Use good quality power cords and digital cable, preferably use XLR.

If you want to go the route of SACD, I have a Marantz SA-14 SACD/CD player that sounds exactly like you are looking for.

John Marks uses it in his set-up for CD playback.

Richard
PS. Mine is NOT for sale

I'm in the same club as Lafish. I've owned both the SFD2mkII
and still have the Processor 3. Good value used, great parts quality, & you can fine tune them with tube choice. SFD2'mkIIs are like $1500. used, an incredible deal IMO....add something like a used Genesis Digital Lens (also a used steal, these things really work on jitter) and you will have a very musical DAC. The Processor 3 is indeed a notch better, separate power supply etc. Both recommended!!

Thanks to everyone so far.

Platypus, why do you think that the Levinsons are a bad choice?

Any comments on the Kora Hermes?

Sounds like you're trying to make the speakers sound better for music by using a DAC and cables as bandaids -- a very expensive and often frustrating proposition. If you're looking at spending that much money you might be better served to buy new speakers that work for you both musically and with HT. Just another thought...

Best of luck.

Soix,
Thanks for the thought. I've pondered that situation but for HT, which is my priority(65%), nothing IMO beats the NHT VT3s. Ever heard 'em?
Got an Audio Note dac 2.1x coming in this weekend. A little excited to say the least...