Well if you don't need the built in DAC then that opens up the flagship Wyred 4 Sound. At only about $3000 they are amazing built and sounding. I recently purchased their pre-amp and it is the best sounding pre-amp I have ever heard. 6Moons was directly comparing against Esoteric at 6-7 times their price.
I was at their factory when I picked up my pre-amp and I can assure you they are hand made in the United States. They even are backed with 5 year warranties.
their customer service is beyond amazing... I had a quick question, sent an e-mail and received a response back within a half an hour.... and THEY ACTUALLY ANSWER THEIR PHONE ...
I just looked up the statement series. Looks good! Sounds like a no brainer to me.... you should get the statement series when they come out, or if you can't wait grab the STP-SE and the ST 500 mkII .... well in your budget and the best sound/built you can probably get in your budget ....
And if you don't want to wait you can place your order and make a trip down to the Central Coast a few days later and pick it up yourself ....
I am pretty confident that it will slaughter all others mentioned in this thread. Nuff said.My thoughts too. Looks like a bad acid trip when someone dropped the soap in the shower!
It weighs 55 pounds. If I could handle that much weight I could keep my current amps.