What I should have said is, I don't know of any outboard or separate DAC's under $1k. There may be even, I just haven't found them yet.

I'm sorry, I hate to weigh in on which player, I actually haven't heard any of those models personally. When going to unknown I lean toward the same brand for synergy sake but not always the best way to go. I like Ajani's suggestion of the Arcam 73t. The 73t you should find fast and very detailed for the money. I've heard various Arcam and Rotel, the 2 are opposite ends of the spectrum. I find Rotel polite and seemingly a bit slower pace where the Arcam is quite a livelier snappy type of presentation. But the 73t is getting into the 8001 territory. The best thing is to audition the brands you have available and select from that, a sure thing will probably be better than buying on our recs. If you don't have a Marantz dealer, www.amusicdirect.com will allow a 30 day return and sells Marantz.

Just curious if your system sounded bright when auditioning the 5001? You may find a better source can help that fatigue.