Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

I have run a few DAC's in my system and have owned the OSDE/SE.  I use a turntable still, so I need a preamp, but I, like most, wanted to hear the differences.  I have never chosen driving directly.  I lose a bit of dynamics and the sound staging can lose a bit of coherency.  

I use an Ayre AX-5/Twenty and the pre on that thing is nearly as good as the KX-R/Twenty.  I like the preamp in my system still. If someone is chasing between a preamp or running directly, I think that the consensus is a pre will sound better, but if you take that extra 10k for a pre (just throwing out a number) and throw that at a better DAC like the OSDX and Final Drives, you will never even know the difference and you will have a much better sounding system than using say the ODSE/SE with that great pre.  

That way you can get a preamp later one and upgrade the sound even more.  

So many ways to go and so many great DAC's on the market right now.  We all hear differently and this thread really shows that.  Thanks for everyone's input.  It's been a wonderful guide for many of us and is appreciated.

Schiit Yggy. Unbelievable sound and value. Use with  Sonore microrendu for streaming. Nothing will beat this at any price.

lxgreen, I'm sure the Yggy is a nice DAC, but you really need to go out and listen to the DAC's being discussed in this thread before making the statement that nothing will beat the Schitt at any price.  Sorry, but there are many in this thread alone that clobber the Schitt DAC.  Honestly, I have heard it in the same system at the same time as the Ayre Codex for 1800 and the Codex was the winner to every one of us in the store and that included the owner who bought the Codex.  I can promise you that the Empirical Audio DAC's are in a different league. I'm not trying to be argumentative, but you need to go listen to other DAC's in order to make that statement I think.  It's all good.  Glad that you love your DAC and steamer though.  That's awesome.

+1 on ctsooner's post. While many Yggdrasil owners want to believe that it's the best DAC in existence, in the real world it provides a good value but is not in the same league with some of the other uber-DACs being discussed on this thread. As long as owners are happy with it that's great, but proclaiming that no DAC at any price can beat it seems a bit optimistic.

Hi Guido- I currently use a Levinson 512 for SACD, but also have a Rowland Aeris Dac, and it's fantastic, however, even more (very slightly) pure and natural sounding to my ears is my newest addition- the Reimyo DAP-999EX Limited dac, and I have done several close comparisons between the two.  Girlfriend has great ears, and she also preferred the Reimyo in a double-blind test.  It's close, but the edge on purity goes to the Reimyo.  

However it's not that easy though- the more I listen to the Aeris, I realize that perhaps it has a more 'complete' control of all frequencies equally with even tighter bass and a simply wonderful complete 'overall' cohesive sound.  So perhaps I give the nod to Aeris as the overall winner, but for certain types of music, the Reimyo is unequivocally superior to my ears, and completely addictive- there is a dare I say a slightly more analog purity to it even over the Aeris (again, on certain types of music), with a complete stripping away of any electronic artefacts.  **Caveat- source comparison is only redbook cd, on a highly modified 47 Labs Flatfish transport, with Oceallia OCC spdif (BNC) digital cable.  

That being said, I have not yet delved into computer audio, so the Aeris with good 24/192 files and a decent music server I am sure will be great, and perhaps the better overall choice, however for spining redbook cd's as source, the nod goes to the Reimyo. The build quality and solidity of the Aeris dac is fantastic, and Rowland gear is Rolex-type audio jewellery (loved my old Concentra).  This is why the (somewhat 'lighter-weight') Reimyo DAP-999EX Limited dac took me completely by surprise.  Both of these dacs are superb, and don't have me longing (quite yet) for the 'panacea' that DSD may provide?  Redbook well implemented can still be completely satisfying- kudos to Jeff Rowland and Reimyo for designing two such superb components...