I'm not going to say "it's the best for a grand or less" - and a certain someone in this thread will cringe (KB, I never did get rid of the thing) - but...
The little MF V-DAC I purchased some time ago is still doing it's job in my system, and doing it well, and for $220 (used). I know, I know, it's a repackaged version of a slightly more expensive MF DAC, but it made my Squeezebox open up, big time. And the fact that HiFi Critic rated it higher than five other far more expensive and reputable DAC's - and found it to have the lowest jitter of any device they had ever tested - sold me on it.
The little MF V-DAC I purchased some time ago is still doing it's job in my system, and doing it well, and for $220 (used). I know, I know, it's a repackaged version of a slightly more expensive MF DAC, but it made my Squeezebox open up, big time. And the fact that HiFi Critic rated it higher than five other far more expensive and reputable DAC's - and found it to have the lowest jitter of any device they had ever tested - sold me on it.