I did a quick search on the Esoteric and came up with about $3000. If that's the case, then I would personally go for the Oppo BDP-S83, which would give you about $2500 for the best DAC you could afford. Then you would get Blu-ray AND USB playback capability.
I've never been the proponent for expensive transports. The job of a good DAC is to reject electronic interference and jitter, so assuming if one is performing as intended, what would be the point of spending excessively on the digital part of the chain, especially with digital correction? If necessary, an Oppo with a modded power supply would still be better value.
I've never been the proponent for expensive transports. The job of a good DAC is to reject electronic interference and jitter, so assuming if one is performing as intended, what would be the point of spending excessively on the digital part of the chain, especially with digital correction? If necessary, an Oppo with a modded power supply would still be better value.