There are so many great sounding DACs under $5k it's silly. I listened to several around $1500 to $6k. In the end I chose one a little over $3k. Almost 3 years in and still love how it sounds. Never been a better time for digital audio that's somewhat affordable.
Is it possible to find a good DAC for under $50, 000?
Apparently, the good folks at The Absolute Sound have you covered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nItR8Z6CCWE
(Audiophiles are never going to shed their out of touch reputation with journalism like this. I'm sorry, but it's just so tone deaf.)