A rig that i like more every day now is BMC Puredac + HD800.
I do feel guilty liking the sound of it, knowing it is Sabre (9016) inside, although tonally it sounds more like some AD1955 dac.
Good technical side is its all discrete output devices and a pretty good analog vol control.
Also the balanced hp amp in it is 95% the same sound to HD800 as HDVA600, shockingly similar actually. (discrete, but i'm suspecting similar topology, current on demand design)

So for people who need decent dac + decent preamp + decent hp amp, it looks to be good value.

HD800 + BMC = ~3000$ (new)

Thks for the Input. i was thinking about this Dac/amp/preamp combo for my living room. Aidee on HF seems to like it a bit too. But it's a bit expensive here so I wait to have the oppotunity to find a used one (220V/EU) .

Best sub $2k rig:

*dac-bifrost uber $420

*hd800 $1050-sale price

*amp Fisher 500c-technically this is a freebie for me since I bought it for speakers, but it happens to be one of the best hd800 amp I've ever heard. Price will vary based on condition and demand but they are still out there. Let's call it $520

total=$1990

It also happens to be the best HE-6 amp I've heard. Pretty damn great.

He-6 with the 500c on a speaker tap cable=mind blown. IMO ymmv :=)

I just have blue jeans cables ...

In my very un-audiophool view, Blue Jeans cables are far from cheap, so I am not sure about the "just!"

The reason that I bought Blue Jeans, for a recent re-cable, is that they are well made, and the company goes to the trouble of telling me the electrical specifications (would be good if I understood, of course) and why they use the materials they use and all that. There is not a trace of quenching in virgin piss or any other pseudo science, superstition or marketing-man excreta. This make me inclined to believe them when they say that their cables are simply transparent, which, in my view, is what an audio cable should be.

I'm not saying that interconnects can't or don't make a difference: I'm saying that they shouldn't. Wire is not a component for tuning a system. If it doesn't suit the room or the ears, an EQ, room treatment, or different equipment is the answer: not wire!

So let us not say "just Blue Jeans..." Let's shout it from the rooftops!   

(Yeah... I'm a bit of a Blue Jeans evangelist, but no, I get nothing out of my enthusiastic posts, not even free postage  )

(My sig applies here too  )