Well, I'm glad you think 5K will be more than enough.  Here are a few PC-DAC components I've been looking at that are considered to excellent, but the pricing exceeds 5K -
Berkeley Alpha Dac (5K) + Music Server (1.5K) + recommended Lynx AES16 sound card (700)
Minerva Weiss (5.5K) plus Music Server (1.5K)
DAD-AX24 + Music Server + sound card
Playback Designs MPD-5 which is out of my price range by itself.
There are several others, but the total cost is over 5K, so waiting anxiously for your DAC 

I'm not a fan of USB DACS.

Yes, jitter is very important and each DAC has different solutions - Firewire, async USB, external clock syncing DAC and PC, sound card, etc.  What approach does the Phasure NOS1 take to reduce jitter?


thanks!

thanks, what about DAC and soundcard?  should the sound card be external?

Only the parts from the DAC to the computer (e.g. sound card, external clock, power supply).  Do not need to include storage.

I'd buy Peter's DAC, when is it for sale   

First let me say I'm a huge fan of xxhighend and all the people who contribute to this site.  I've heard xxhighend on a very high-end system and it was eerie how the soundstage changed dramatically.
So I am now convinced to go digital and have been doing research on different DACs, computers, storage, sound cards, etc.
My question is if you have $5-$8 thousand dollars to spend on a digital system what would you recommend.

Many thanks in advance for all replies.