If you can't afford the Rega Isis Valve, the Rega Saturn R is a really good compromise. I've owned mine for a couple of years and really enjoy it. MSRP is $3K and they are about half that on the used market. They sound really good, have lots of digital inputs and are built like a brick. Really enjoyable IMHO.
Recommendations for CD Player/DAC Combo
I was slightly surprised that there isn't a very large selection of CD player/DAC combos out there. Yamaha, Marantz, Musical Fidelity, and a few others make them, but not many other companies. It seems like building a cd player into a DAC makes a lot of sense, like an integrated amp. Can anyone recommend one these? My budget would $3000 tops. Thanks, J