I've ended up with this
http://www.cec-web.co.jp/products/dac/dx71mk2_e.html
I am extremely impressed with this unit.

It looks great. To my mind this really is the way to go - the
DAC-Preamp. All your digital sources go into it and there you are.

Can you give us a fuller description of how it operates and sounds, and
in what ways it was better than the other equipment you had before or
tried out?

I can't find any reviews of this, so the above would be welcome.