Better music--classic DAC's or new Channel Islands

I have been looking at a Theta DS Pro Prime DAC (used) from a local audio dealer, have read about the Muse Two, and also have considered a newer, economical DAC like the Channel Islands VDA-1. I love beauty in my music and it seems that spending $300-$500 for an older DAC which is known as a "class act" might be better than going with the newer Channel Islands--which is rated very well, but can it compare to a $2-3,000 DAC (even though the DAC is older)?