DAC for my Apple / Airport express...suggestions

Cheer up, maybe you just stumped everyone :-)

You can probably search this forum and get ideas. The DAC's I see get mentioned are the Theta Chroma (used under $400), and the Monarchy (available for $400 or so used). New options include the Scott Nixon designs (but check to make sure they take toslink) the Ack! Dac's (also check for toslink) and a few others like the Paradisea which pops up often on Ebay. There is another called the Lite DAC that's under $200. Unfortunately, I have no personal experience with any of these.

My last DAC was an Audio Alchemy 3.0 that I sold for $2-300. They don't come up often but they are great DAC's. Hope this helps.

If I were buying at this price point, I'd probably buy a Chroma. It's from an company known for state of the art digital that has gone high end only. The units may be a little old but I bet you would like what they deliver.

Disclaimer: No affiliation with anyone selling them here. Good luck.