Some good alternatives: Holo Audio May, MHDT Orchid, Denefrips Pontus, etc....
But, you can sometimes find the Schitt Yggdrasil R2R Dac in your price range. I really like the Yggy, which gets great reviews. I think I bought mine for around $1900...
I doubt I'd trade it for anything less than the Denefrips Terminator, or Audio Mirror Trubador...