Best DAC under 2k US ?

What about a used PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC? There are a boatload of them for sale on Audiogon right now. Apparently, owners have a hard time giving them away, which might be all you need to know.

(I actually own the Perfect Wave DAC. It sounds very good with the Perfect Wave Transport, which I think may be the stand out PS Audio digital component. In all honesty, the DAC sounds pretty mediocre from every other digital source -- S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and the PS Audio Bridge. Even with the MK2 upgrade, the DAC doesn't sound that great unless you also own the Transport. And even then, the DAC has a pretty narrow soundstage. In some ways, a cheap Northstar M192 I once owned threw a much more convincing, absorbing soundstage than the Perfect Wave DAC. And the Northstar sold used for about $800.)

My comments about the Perfect Wave DAC were too negative. If you have the funds to buy the Perfect Wave Transport (now called the Memory Player) as well, and connect the two via the HDMI interface, sound quality is really excellent, even more so after the MK2 upgrade of the DAC. I have tried other digital interfaces to connect the DAC to the Transport, including the very highly regarded Shunyata Python Zitron XLR digital cable, and found it to fall short of the sound quality of the HDMI connection especially in terms of resolution and deep bass.

Other digital sources (PS Audio's Bridge and non-PS Audio CD players) do not sound as good to me as the Transport. The Bridge, in my opinion, has less soundstage depth and is less dynamic than the Transport.

PS Audio has a very useful, non-censored community forum. A number of DAC owners who use the Bridge are waiting for better sounding firmware for the Bridge. PS Audio will probably deliver on this.

I do own two sets of the Perfect Wave DAC & Transport. I would not have bought the second set if I didn't like the sound quality of the first set.

My only complaint about PS Audio is that some of its products sometimes seem like works in progress. The Bridge was supposed to equal the sound quality of the Transport. In my opinion and theirs, it is not at the same level as the Transport.

I have seen a lot of used Perfect Wave DACs for sale on Audiogon in the last year or so. It seems to show up more frequently than other DACs. I suspect some people have been underwhelmed by the sound quality of the DAC when used with the Bridge or non-Transport sources.

Tonyptony, the Shunyata Python Zitron XLR cable between the PW DAC and Transport lacked resolution and image placement and instrument separation was poor. I felt like I was hearing a blob of sound coming from the speakers that lacked coherence. The Zitron has a little added mid-bass warmth, but that was its only positive attribute to my ears. Of course, the Zitron digital cables might work quite well in other applications. I just didn't think it sounded good between the PW DAC & Transport.

Regarding HDMI cables, I have found that they all sound more similar than different -- I have tried Harmonic Technology, Wireworld Silver Starlight, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, and Supra. I would give a slight edge to the Wireworld Platinum Starlight, but this might have been a placebo effect, since the Platinum Starlight retails for $500. The Harmonic Technology may have been a little warmer than other HDMI cables, but differences were really miniscule. So, if your budget is limited, I would not play around with expensive HDMI cables. I got far more improvement in sound quality replacing Audio Art Power 1 power cords with Mojo Audio Enigma power cords on the DAC and Transport. The Mojo cords really had a profound effect on the quality and quantity of bass from the PW combo, without sacrificing anything at other frequencies.