In what price range do I need to go for a Dac ?

Not knowing that DAC its really hard for me to say but at about $2k or a little under there are a number of DAC's I would put in the upper echelon such as a Tranquility SE and PDX. The Metrum is about $1K but you need something like an Audiophellio 2 or Off-Ramp to really unlock it and that raises the price to about that level.

Shameless plug - I have a level 1 USB only PDX available for $1.8K if you or anyone is interested:
http://www.lenehanaudio.com.au/index.php/products/pdx-usb-dac.html

I am in Australia though so the cost of getting it to the US where most people seem to be could be high.

Thanks
Bill