It’s somewhere north of $3K that DACs start to differentiate themselves from the pack.
in that strata, it’s BRYSTON as my best bang fer yer buck choice as “uncoloured”.
https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/spdif-dac-reviews/bryston-bda-3-dac/
“ ,,,, the BDA-3 still has an immediately engaging sound to listen to, with a propulsive presentation, bold dynamics, big bass, and a very natural tonality,,,Add to this its neutral yet colorful delivery, totally convincing timbre and the total absence of any hardness or grain and the BDA-3 becomes quite the proposition.”