DAC with the best midrange ever.....

I'm using a 32-bit DAC created out of a Denon 3910 by Alex Peychev that includes a Class A tube output stage, among other refinements. The sound is pretty amazing - no problems after 6 months. He is working on several commercially viable DACs using the latest 32-bit AKM DAC chips as I write this. Not sure when they will be available, but when they are, definitely worth checking out.

huge analog fan, best midrange ever, doesn't like the Benchmark...i'm thinking at the very least NOS and something with tubes.

I like the Kora Hermes 2 that I have been using for the last 4-5 years. I went through multiple DACs to settle on this. I does handle 192/24, but it doesn't upsample.

Here's an interesting idea...I just picked up a minimax BBA to try as an impedance buffer between my preamp (with 5k ohm impedance out) and amps (47k in). Turns out it sounds much better between cdp and pre. The soundstaging and 'live' experience has gone through the roof -- and of course midrange is at the heart of it all (but there is also a large improvement at the extremes, more detail and more air).

You'd need a cdp, not just a transport, but cdp + BBA sounds better then any digital source I've had or heard before.

Kora Hermes is an incredible D/A converter and a real bargain on the used market.