older dacs

My advice is wait a month or two hopefully and PS Audio will have their $999 dac out (maybe find it discounted a bit)

Arnie Nudell heard it and thought it was better than almost any dac out there in Levinson. It's going to be a giant killer and worth a little more than your current budget. PS Audio is doing amazing things these days with low cost gain cell gear. I just got their GCPH phono preamp, and it is excellent.

Wait, save more money and audition it, That;s what I;m doing,

I'll second the Audio Mirror, but you should also check in to the Channel Islands Audio DAC with separate power supply. I had a chance to hear in Dusty's listening room and it was very impressive. It is in your budget and has a 30 day trial period .

Thanks for all of the response. I have narrowed it down to an older dac after some input. Something in the $500 range. Has anyone out there spent any time with a theta. I'll let you guys know what ends up on the shelf...

Channel Island audio will be releasing the VDA 2. A completely different dac which will no doubt be near SOTA. It's too much to go into here but check the Channel Island forum at audiocircle.com. Dusty said they should be ready by Christmas. He has been working on this for a while. It will have a gentle sloped filter with the best parts and dac available. With his knowledge and ability it's my best guess it's going to be outstanding at 600.00 new. I'm getting one for Christmas for myself. Don't wait for the reviews or he could end up raising the price. I seriously doubt you'll find much used that would be competitive one on one with this new dac, just my .02 worth.

Watch for Dusty at Channel Island, he's creating some pretty serious giant killers at down to earth prices.
I spoke with him again the other day about his D-200 amps.
This new Dac comes as no surprise, considering how well his D series amps have been received.