Great options here. I would add to the recommendation of the Laiv Harmony w/DDC if you want that natural analog R2R sound. If you want something more detailed, dynamic and open I’d recommend the Tambaqui or Aavik D280.
I’ve owned the following dacs in my system:
Grimm MU2
SW1X Level 3 special
Holo May KTE
Denafrips Terminator
Directstream
Lampizator Atlantic SE
Aavik D280
Laiv Harmony w/DDC
various others… also listened to the Tambaqui a few times and was impressed. It is very similar, IMO, to the Aavik D280. Dynamic, transparent and detailed. Great bass and defined leading edges of notes. Every detail on display but not harsh or fatiguing. I currently have the Laiv combo and the Aavik hooked up to my system simultaneously and can A/B then by switching inputs on my LTA Zotl pre 3. The Aavik is clearly “better” in all objective measures than the Laiv, as it should be at about 3-4x in price. But the Laiv is so easy to listen to and you don’t really miss anything that I am so happy with it. I keep trying to “upgrade” the dac but while as few have been “better” (Grimm MU2, Holo May, Aavik D280, SW1x) I can’t say I’ve enjoyed the music more than when listening to the Laiv built. It’s scary how well built and packaged they are for the money. They make most of midrange lampi dacs look like they came out of a garage hobbyists lab, and I’m a lampi fan! The sound of the Laiv is very similar to the Holo May but it’s a little denser and the soundstage is a touch narrower. But when I added the Laiv DDC I found the soundstage to open up to be just as wide as the May and a bit more dynamic. The Grimm is stellar but I couldn’t justify the cost difference and I actually think the star of the show in the Grimm is the preamp. I tested it separately and it was superb. The dac is excellent too but the sound I’m getting from the LTA + Laiv is just so hard to beat without spending thousands more I just keep coming back to it.
Now if you want all that detail and openness and a more dynamic sound the Aavik is fantastic. The D280 wasn’t on my radar but saw a used one and took a chance mainly out of curiosity. I’ve wondered if Aavik is all talk as they don’t give a lot of details on the dac other than talk about Tesla coils and stuff which sounds like a lot of marketing mumbo jumbo to me…. but it’s legit. When switching from the Laiv in realtime to the Aavik it’s like everything woke up! It’s so transparent. Much like the Tambaqui’s I’ve heard. But I prefer the relaxed R2R sound probably for the same reason I like tube amps. I’ll probably put the D280 back up for sale for the same reason I sold the Grimm, May, etc. It’s better than the Laiv for sure but I just get everything I need from the Laiv combo.