It is on the warmer side of neutral and definitely not harsh sounding. I have owned the DS SR. for almost four years. Same goes for the Aqua which you can buy new for your budget and used for a bit less. I personally haven't heard the Matrix but have a friend on another forum that has it and he describes it as warmer and not harsh. As to the Terminator I have read that between it and the Plus the original is the less forward of the two. Also in that group would be the Holo May KTE which I am getting ready to order. If you are willing to venture into tube DAC's the Lampizator Amber 3 would fit the bill as would the new Baltic but it may be over your budget.
There is a mint Aqua La Voce S3 on Canuck Audio Mart right now for a good price. Also multiple DS Sr.'s listed on HiFi Shark.
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Jack
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