Thanks for the replies guys
I was hoping this would stir a little bit, the K-DAC with a good transport will indeed stand up well to all those overpriced 'hyped' devices sold via glossy magazines but if this retailed via the usual 'hi fi saloons' it would be 50K's worth so straight away above the limit mentioned for a 'reference system' starting point. Agreed, personal taste makes a huge difference as we are not all classically trained musicians but - being of the hi fi fraternity we should all recognise a >100K system for some merits even if it does not fulfil all our own prejudices.
IMHO it takes years of listening to a lot of different designs to work out what jells together really well and light the blue touch paper. There are so many choices that without the banked experience of having lived with a range of systems it’s like bypassing the doctor and treating yourself……….
Going back to the new 'passive pre' impedances makes such a huge difference here getting them wrong will cause a different outcome and not always what you'd expect. I have tried switched attenuators with VSRJ's, Holco's etc, digital ladder fed devices and tapped transformers, they all have their shortcomings (although usually less than a lot of transistor pre's) and initially one is drawn to the additional detail discerned; these come at a price usually, musicality, pace, bass drive all seem to be affected (IMO). I am not saying that it will not work and the buffer stage will go a long way to overcome some of these issues, what the hell - give it a go especially if it’s on a sale or return basis minus postage! I did note in another forum that a respondent mentioned building you own and saving several hundred dollars at the same time, this way it does not have to be ‘butt ugly’!