I've been wondering about the same issue for a while. I haven't currently delved in, so my comments are based on reading.
You can buy a used Proceed AVP or Theta CasaNova for less than 1000. Some commonly mentioned DACs are the Benchmark (around 1000), the Del Canto (2500) and the Musical FIdelity xDac (like 1500.)
So it seems a matter of how much you want to invest. A true high end DAC can exceed the price of a very nice pre-pro. So it makes sense that it would probably better the pre-pro when you consider the many functions of the latter. With that said, the pre-pro is pretty versatile and something like a used Proceed or Theta are big bang for the buck.
Just some thoughts.
You can buy a used Proceed AVP or Theta CasaNova for less than 1000. Some commonly mentioned DACs are the Benchmark (around 1000), the Del Canto (2500) and the Musical FIdelity xDac (like 1500.)
So it seems a matter of how much you want to invest. A true high end DAC can exceed the price of a very nice pre-pro. So it makes sense that it would probably better the pre-pro when you consider the many functions of the latter. With that said, the pre-pro is pretty versatile and something like a used Proceed or Theta are big bang for the buck.
Just some thoughts.