"New and improved" will NEVER compensate for a well designed and implemented output stage and power supply. For that you have to spend more otherwise the budget DAC's will be more of preference in a given system rather than standing out as universally "better". This is my opinion from my personal experiences the past few years. You can do well and yes, they probably are improving but it seems more to me like a game of musical chairs, if you catch my drift.
Good luck with your search and remember, these DAC's can have a different presentation in different systems so it's not always easy to know how they might work in yours, something to REALLY think about. I have experienced this first hand. You have to read between the lines when choosing a DAC for your system then try to determine how it might work in yours. Go slow, don't take anyone's word for anything just try to build a data bank of knowledge of reported sonic characteristics and how that might work out in your system. It just isn't so simple as "best" but what your system's strenghs and weakness are and how that DAC might work in it. This is fundamental for choosing any component but with the overwhelming number of DAC's flooding the market it can become sensory overload. As someone above mentioned, I would consider looking at something used that might be comparable to spending 1.5K new, food for thought. If you've got plenty of dough to burn try them all and then you'll know for sure!:)
Good luck with your search and remember, these DAC's can have a different presentation in different systems so it's not always easy to know how they might work in yours, something to REALLY think about. I have experienced this first hand. You have to read between the lines when choosing a DAC for your system then try to determine how it might work in yours. Go slow, don't take anyone's word for anything just try to build a data bank of knowledge of reported sonic characteristics and how that might work out in your system. It just isn't so simple as "best" but what your system's strenghs and weakness are and how that DAC might work in it. This is fundamental for choosing any component but with the overwhelming number of DAC's flooding the market it can become sensory overload. As someone above mentioned, I would consider looking at something used that might be comparable to spending 1.5K new, food for thought. If you've got plenty of dough to burn try them all and then you'll know for sure!:)