Looking for a DAC < $1500

Great you have a DAC to use while in the hunt. Many great older DACs come up for sale used. The field opens up when asynchronous USB is not a requirement.

Agree with ivanj on 12-23.   I've had a new Oppo 105 for four months, and it's level of performance (for $500) is unheard of - bests my old Cambridge Audio 840C in many ways, including glare.   Oppo uses the well reviewed ESS Sabre ES9018 converter, around since 2012.  The Absolute Sound 12/14 review of the Oppo 105 states that the engineer modifying the unit "could not improve on the clock or the DAC" so he left them alone.  For home audio, I just can't justify going with an outboard DAC now.   But, I'd love to hear from any fanatic out there that has done A/B comparisons to the Oppo 105, using newer DAC/chip designs.

If you can't tell male from female you have a problem but don't feel bad. My mother wanted a male puppy but got a female by mistake. My father told her that after 10 children she should have been able to tell the difference!

These names are too much. Norse Mythology? Random letters?

" But, I'd love to hear from any fanatic out there that has done A/B comparisons to the Oppo 105, using newer DAC/chip designs."

I've compared the Oppo to other products. Its an OK starter component, but you can only do so much at that price point. Also, if you're not using it for video, a good portion of the cost goes into stuff you don't need. 

As far as comparing the dac chips, its extremely difficult to isolate just one small part of the player. More importantly, you're focusing on small things while ignoring the big ones. Have you considered anything involving the analog portion of the dac? It accounts for at least 50% of the sound you hear, and it usually makes a much bigger difference than the chip. I compared the Oppo to CD players that were 15-20 years old. Those players may not have a modern dac chip, but they do have exceptional analog stages. On Redbook CD, they made the Oppo sound defective.