which dac?

Blindjim,
Too bad you're not closer. I would loan my Bel Canto Dac 3 to you, so you could do some comparisons. Honestly I don't think there is a such thing as the best. I do believe you'd like the BC3. Whether you'd like it over the Lavry I do not know. I will say the BC3 is a seriously good sounding Dac. It will make you think twice about spending more on a digital front end. If nothing else comparing the two would be fun!

Hi Jim..I've shipped several of my components off for others to audition. I found very nice audiophiles in New York and southern Florida that did the same. I had a chance to hear equipment I would have never heard because of them. There are some trusting audio heads out there...probably not many though.

I agree there's a sea of gear in the price range. What sealed it for me was the digital preamp and Dac combo. I wanted silence and pitch black between the notes. The BC3 does that very well! I'm not crazy about the cheesy remote , but hey you can't have it all right.

I was also afraid I wouldn't be able to find an active preamp as quiet or as transparent in this price range.
If there is one more transparent..I haven't heard it or seen it. One of my pet peeves is hum and hiss, I just can't live with it in my system.