Regards the OP, one can get under 1k with a PC set up, using one of the numerous inexpensive but well regarded USB dacs (which I've not auditioned). But it is worth pointing out that things can add up pretty fast, with cabling, and an external hard drive (at least 1 TB for many of our collections), preferably set up in raid array. So my hunch is that one could do better price wise, at the "entry level," with a well-regarded CDP: eg, a used Jolida (which I used and enjoyed) could be be had for 500 bucks or so, and it would be hard to go lower than that for a PC rig, unless you had most of the computer stuff you needed around. That said, I've found my PC system to be a lot more fun to use than a CDP, particularly regards to accessing my (not too big) collection of music, and I'd not go back.
Regards the tangential discussion, I very much enjoy my Perfect Wave DAC, and certainly recommend that people contemplating a PC system give it a listen, but now we're talking a good bit more $ than the OP.
John
Regards the tangential discussion, I very much enjoy my Perfect Wave DAC, and certainly recommend that people contemplating a PC system give it a listen, but now we're talking a good bit more $ than the OP.
John