Thanks for the responses (and more ideas would be welcome).
Richardfinegold - Were you suggesting the Oppo or Denon as a player or transport for a good DAC? Do you think they would sound better than the DV50 as a player? For that matter, would they be better than the DV50 as a transport?
Jfrech. The dCS Puccini would be stretch; in your experience, how important is adding the clock unit (I guess it is needed for UBS input). I also saw that while JA gave it a great review in Stereophile, he didn't find that it sounded much better or different than the Ayre C-5, which obviously is much less costly (esp. used).
I've been reading since my post, and have seen some good comments on the EVS-modded Oppo 95. Also, Esoteric has a new K-05 model that sounds interesting - but too new apparently for any reviews for feedback.