Some DACs I am Considering-Any thoughts?

@chorus. You've had more chance for direct comparison than most of us get, so you're fortunate to have an active local club. The challenge for me when I enjoyed the same was that in "shootout" conditions, you're lucky to have more than a few minutes in the sweet spot, let alone for each DAC. Your ears are perked up, the analytical side of your brain on high alert. Advantage to the overly detailed, etched and analytical gear.
OTOH, at home with extended listening sessions, the other side of your brain gets its due...musicality has its chance to shine. It's no wonder we share tales of amazing store demoes followed by disappointment after purchase. It's hard! 

FWIW, I recently purchased and broke-in a Pontus II which I upgraded to from a Schitt Gungnir Multibit. My narrowed down list included much overlap with yours, along with the Chord Qutest. I've heard Soekris, MHDT dacs but not side by side, so I can't draw much in specific comparison. What I can tell you is that the Denafrips Pontus II does deliver the magic with great recordings; the goosebumps and the "teleportation - you are there -- they are here". I hear tons of detail, but that pales in comparison to the natural timbre, rhythmic drive, natural untangling of complex passages and pure beauty of the human voice. These impressions are on this system: https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/133
My decision came down to perceived value, build quality and likely value retention. Denafrips IMHO, is on track to survive in the long run. Unfortunately, many in the industry aren't around in 5 years when you may need support. So far, I'm feeling great about choosing the Pontus.
Cheers,
Spencer

@chorus, I am considering 2 DACs, one on your list the Audio Mirror SE and one not seen mentioned on this thread, the Mojo Audio Mystique V3.  There are excellent reviews on both DACs but would like to hear from anyone who has done a direct comparison. Not able to audition either of these, I have settled for a lot of reading and the

Mojo has upgraded the V3 to the Evo and reports claim performance rivaling $10K DACs !  The V3 is available for about $3500, the Evo is beyond my budget.

@dsper, I used to belong to a small local get-together and was known to have the best redbook performance from my ancient Wadia 15, beating some modern and expensive units. The Wadia and Theta were overbuilt tanks and top of their game. The Theta Gen. V is particularly good.

I was testing in my system:

Lampizator Amber 3
MHDT Pagoda
Chord Qutest
Audio note 1.2x siganture
Audio note 2.1x signature
Chord Mojo (jus for fun)

So the strongest were Lampizator Amber 3 and Audio note 2.1 signature. Lampizator has very good details, drums were superb, but vocals in my system did not had "love" - flow like AN 2.1x which ticked all these fields. By my surprise AN 1.2x was better than MHDT Pagoda (with stock tube) and it was nothing bad and nothing special, Pagoda was better than Chord Qutest (chord is absolutely too much hyped, when i heard it i do not understand for what people are giving very good reviews to them...)

When i got Sootto RCA (single wire working like coaxial) cable from innuos streamer to my AN 2.1x signature now the things became wonderfull and total it was cheaper than to get new Amber 3 dac. Chord mojo is a joke, my fiio E17 alpen i liked more that mojo with Meze 99c or just playing from TV. 

I was really sceptical regarding Audio Note dac but now i would always test it with other dacs, of course if you have possibility (dealer) to do it. Also please give chance to Lampizator (i would like to test Lampizator Baltic) as they give 6 days trial and you loose nothing, really great dac!

not to say that other dacs and other gear from relative newcomers aren’t also excellent -- but in general, when dealing with longstanding still-productive high end makers like audio note, conrad johnson, audio research, pass and so on... they have been making excellent, exquisite sounding gear for so long... it is hard to do wrong to trust their ability to deliver (although obviously their ’value equation’ may not be the best anymore with their fairly high prices, you most certainly get what you pay for...)

i always like to say, when some companies have been out there for 30-40-50 years at the top of the game, always respected, always recommended, with happy, discerning customers for several generations now, ’they have not been stealing money from deaf people all these years...." 😁😁😁

-- side note -- mhdt dacs sound much better with a tube upgrade from the stock ones shipped with new units ... even jian @mhdt says so ...

Lots of excellent DACs mentioned, but if you’re looking for the “magic” in music, go with the highest level Audio Note UK DAC (not AN Kit) you can afford. Most of these other DAC manufacturers didn’t even exist when Audio Note UK started making NOS DACs. While you’re looking for the right Audio Note UK DAC, get a Denafrips Ares II DAC for $800. Used ones sell like hot cakes (3-year Transferable warranty!); you’ll get most of your money back when you sell it, after getting your Audio Note UK DAC, or keep it as a backup or for a second system.