At a little more than your $1500 price range, another well reviewed denafrips r2r is the pontus ii.
Since your gear may not be up to hearing the differences, (your human hearing gear that is) you may be served just as well by their ares ii.
Both r2r, they are often described as the 'analog of digital' giving you that smoother presentation that your hearing will probably respond best to. I'm in similar situation with my aging metal drummer ears and recently ordered the ares ii for similar sonic reasons.
I don't have standalone dac experience, this will be my first adventure so I'm total newbie if that helps at all.