Recommend A New DAC Between $1000 and $2000

i had an rme adi2 about two years ago, the fs2 unit with akm chip

i felt it was a feature rich, well built, very clear and precise sounding dac, best run without internal volume attenuation (as this was done in the digital domain and could reduce resolution if high attenuation levels are used) - a great value in terms of sound and control over the sound, for the money...

at the time i also had the ayre codex, mhdt stockholm and chord qutest in house for comparison, and i felt the rme was excellent in its quite precise, very clear presentation of the music with extended frequency response -- but its weaknesses were a more mechanical, less organic presentation than either the ayre or mhdt (a nos tube buffered dac), and had a notable stronger central image without the appreciable soundstaging width or depth of the other dacs (the chord was the best in this regard, had tremendous spatial imagery, followed closely by the mhdt then the ayre) -- as such i concluded the rme is best suited for headphone listeners where imaging ability is less valued than the other positive attributes the rme brings its user

+1 for the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, and more specifically the Less is More version.

I've not heard the other variants of the Yggy but purchased a LIM after reading many of its reviews.   My current DAC is the Meitner MA3 and my previous was a Mojo Audio NOS R2R and I find the LIM has very similar sound characteristics to both of those DACs.   Put another way, if one likes the sound of those other DACs I think there is a good chance they will like the sound of the LIM.  It is made and serviced in the USA, plus the Yggy+ chassis supports easy upgrades in the future. 

Schiit had a few LIMs in the non Yggy+ chassis for $1800 but they may be gone by now.

I was hoping I could sell my MA3 for the LIM to save some $$$, but no, it made me realize how good the MA3 is; but for now at least I've put the LIM in my second system and hope to keep it.    I've owned the RME with the AKM AK4493 chip, and really liked it for the $$ and feature set, but much prefer the LIM sound quality.  YMMV...

For my experience the iFi Neo iDSD dac + iFi iPurifier3 (reclocker) + the flagship psu 5V iPower Elite these 3 stuffs combination gives a superb wide soundstage & best imaging. and it's under $2k for all 3 gears.