Will a new Dac improve the sound?

I’ve used the following upgrades in my low-budget system for the last several months:

1. Audiolab 6000cdt transport

2. Cambridge Audio Dacmagic 200 DAC

3. Wyred4sound Remedy reclocker (purchased late last year)

Total price: @$1500.

A big improvement to my digital source (lots of 44.1/16 CDs, no streaming). CDs are now 96/24 playback. Improved soundstage with everything much more focused. Almost no harshness a lot of the time; when it occasionally happens, my uneducated guess is that it might be the quality of the masters that were used. Totally happy with the results.

I put a simpel smsl dac behind mine Marantz sacd player.

It is much better.

+ 1 on the Audiolab CDT6000

Some well reviewed “newer” dacs blow $1k that have really broken through in terms of excellent tone, stage, and detail:

Denafrips Ares II

Topping D70s (I’m using this one and am astonished at how good it sounds)

SMSL VMV d1se

Thank you guys for all the input. I guess now i'm trying to decide between a Dac with tubes or not. Not sure if the tube would give me a little less harshness. Or a R2R would give me the same results.

Lots of very well-informed advice here already. For what it's worth, I was skeptical about DACs; I've got a Marantz SA8005 SACD player that sounded just fine. Then I found a PS Audio UltraLink DAC at an estate sale, and picked it up for a song ($100). With my remote, I can switch back and forth between it and the Marantz. The difference is subtle but essential! The PS Audio is "warmer," more natural, just more involving; woodwinds sound like air through wood instead of electrons. Unfortunately, the PS Audio won't decode SACDs, so those still must be played through the Marantz. But for Red Book, I never prefer the Marantz. (BTW, Paul McGowan at PS Audio offered to give me full original purchase price—$2,000—for the UltraLink in trade for a newer DAC that will decode SACDs. Do any of you think that would be wise? I've read many statements here, including even in this thread, to the effect that newer DACs are much better than older ones, even for Red Book.)