The Denafrips Pontus to me is better than the much more expensive (overpriced) Terminator and a used one makes sense.
Not mentioned here are the Monarchy DACs, they have been around awhile, can be found at a good price and sound great. The bulk of DACs today sound detailed to a point of distraction. This over-detailed sound is impressive at first but soon becomes fatiguing, but in a comparison stands out above the rest to get your attention.
Don't overlook the older units built like tanks that will outlast much of today's offerings. I still use my Wadia 15 which plays redbook only and have heard nothing better., about $1000/1500 used. I have another DAC to play hi-res and hardly use it. There is a Manley, if you can find one, Theta Gen V and lots of others.
There is a list of DAC chips on the net used by various manufacturers. Look out for units that use Burr-Brown PCM 63, 1702 and 1704 plus some others I can't remember. There are many units sitting somewhere unloved and unwanted going cheaply that will play redbook better than just about anything modern. It's simple, the old redbook players were designed around the architecture of the day without the distraction of 'hi-res' which was not available then.
The early TDA1541 chips were ubiquitous and are still used today. One such is Audio Note and if you search may find one in your price range. Very musical.
