DAC question -- Importance of good vibes

There's tons written about DACs here, but I have to ask my own DAC question with a very specific point.

I need to replace my Linn Karik, which I've enjoyed a lot. I'm looking for a DAC, or a player that also can take digital input, that has at least an RCA and an optical input to handle music from iTunes/Airport Express as well as CD.

I have been listening to a Quad 99 CDP in my system. I've found it enjoyable -- lively, articulate, dynamic, superior bass retrieval. But frankly, I enjoy my aging Karik more. Compared to the Quad, the Karik sounds somewhat whitish -- not necessarily a virtue. But the Karik conveys emotion better, and here's my attempt at explaining why.

Through the Karik, I am aware of the vibration at the core of the notes that I hear. All music is vibration, of course, but not all equipment conveys that. Equipment can be clear, articulate, tonally correct, detailed, have great soundstaging, etc., but produce notes that are too solid, too inert.

Sounds are made of air and are always moving and changing. The ability to convey this alive and ephemeral nature of sounds -- what do people call this? Inner detail? It is as if the notes were lit from within, and it makes the music sound very free in space. I was struck by this last night while listening to the Mahler Symphony 5 Adagietto, and this sense of the vibration of music probably is most noticeable in quiet or small-scale music. But it applies everywhere -- listening to Rickie Lee Jones singing, Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Little Wing, a horn section gettin' low-down.

Back to the CDPs. The Karik does this better. The Quad's sound is denser and less layered, with a flatter soundstage -- I think these are all related to my point. The Quad is superior in some ways, too, but I need to hear those good vibrations to be fully satisfied.

I also took the digital output of the Karik through a very cheap digital cable into the Quad's DAC and, interestingly, found out that much of what I like better about the Karik can be attributed to its transport. However, it is the transport section of the Karik that is showing its age and is not fixable, so I need to keep looking.

Given what I've written, does anyone have suggestions in the roughly $1000 used range? I'm looking for a DAC first--will think about transport later (unless there's another CDP-with-inputs solution). Need digital and optical inputs. I've read lots about the Benchmark, and it doesn't sound like it's for me. The old Museatex stuff with updates sounds interesting. Northstar?

I listen to lots of kinds of music. I use my Linn Majik as a preamp; amp is a Van Alstine Super 70i (EL34 tubes); Reference 3A DeCapo speakers. Other sound quality preferences: not dark, not warm, laid back rather than upfront presentation.