I also have been lurking for the past few months and really haven't made a decision on which DAC to place in my system.
I came across a thread on this site the other day referring to a French designed/built dac that has good sound.I ordered mine yesterday ,so can't give you my perspective.It's cheap enough, and will allow me to hear what the DAC talk is all about and also let me save up for a"real"dac.
Here is the link,
Non-Oversampling DAC TDA1543 DIR9001 96kHz SPDIF Coax Optical & 9V NiMH charger | eBay