The jays MKII was also a very good transport. It is more forward sounding than the Pro-Ject and the Audiomeca so it sounds a little faster.
Wish I'd known this before ordering my Jay's! Not one review I read mentioned the forward aspect. In my system, I found it quite fatiguing until I eliminated silver cabling and changed out the Symposium Roller Block footers. I can't imagine pairing the Jay's with a "surgical" DAC -- a tubed DAC would probably be ideal.
I typically don't buy anything without a return option and this experience has reinforced my intention to not break my own rule, again. Having said that, I'm not sure what other transport I would've worked, at the price point, as I did not care for the ergonomics of the pro-ject.