Boutique DACs

I would NOT consider these brands boutique, just my opinion. Examples

Yamaha, Marantz, Technics, Rega, Cambridge, NAD, McIntosh, or anything made in China, etc....

Not sure why "made in China" is an apt discriminator. Holo Audio and Gustard DACs are both made in China, right? They’re not large companies, also. Are they "boutique," OP? I’d add them to the list.

I did a deep dive a year ago, ended up with the LTA Aero, so add another thumbs up. Worthy of mention is the Schiit Yggdrasil and the Geshelli Labs Dayzie (discontinued). I compared them all, but fell in love with the Aero.

APL hi fi dac

@hilde45 I'm not asking for absolutes.. I was curating a list based on my personal preference. 

Jk_richards - I agree that the DS sr dac was/is a great dac, especially for the money. What made it sound better was getting the PS Audio Airlens using I2S.

In the last month, I bought the PS Audio Stellar Gold dac which bettered the DS sr dac.