Distinctly Digital Forever?

I went with the Border Patrol DAC for the same reason & along w/ an Innuos Zenith Mark  III sounds very good & not digitally fatiguing.  It’s not pricey  & You might check it out..

@hickamore 

There are many excellent recommendations from others where you will not go wrong. I use a Wyred 4 Sound 10th Anniversary DAC with an Aurender N100H and feel the results very “analog” like with dense, three dimensional images, deep/wide stage, excellent micro and macro dynamics, extended bass, and detail without edge or glare.  Remember good power cords, USB interconnects, and vibration isolation.  I use WyWires Platinum and Symposium Platforms/Rollerblock Jrs. to optimize performance. The Aurender N200 will outperform my N100H which is no longer available.   Read reviews on the Wyred DCC that also characterize it as “analog like”.  Of course you can go cost no object up the Aurender line and with DACS like the Chord Dave … or DCS Bartok without need for a server, the latter being the best I have heard for which I am saving my pennies (a lot of pennies)  

darko.audio/2017/12/Wyred-4-sound-dac2v2se-10th-anniversary-review

6moons.com/audioreviews2/wyred6/1.html

thesoundadvocate.com/2020/09/review-Wyred-4-sound-2v2se-10th-anniversary/

@larryi I think Audio Note DACs your description of what is desirable more than do most other high end digital gear. The prices of their gear goes pretty high and that range is almost entirely the result of using higher quality parts for the analogue post-conversion sections of the DAC; the digital section does not change much and is deliberately simple—no oversampling, very simple filters

I doubt that you can find philosophically and design any more opposing approach/execution  than Audio Note and Mola Mola. 180 degrees for certain.

Charles

sound indistinguishable from an FM radio signal,

No, there are many DAC's that use upsampling though which you might like

@charles1dad …indeed, add Chord and DCS to that….

Not my cup of tea but i do try to discern strengths and weakness… as i know you do as well.

Best in music - Jim