Analog devices board
I have the Analog Devices EVAL AD-1853EB evaluation board. I quite like it. I believe you will find that most manufacturers base just about every aspect of their 1853 design on the eval board except that they try to differentiate somewhat in analog filter + possibly power supply.
I am quite happy with mine. It does good duty being more or less built into my 12 year old CD player (which I am also quite happy with).
In my experience, I have way better sound than most of my friends from my humble setup.
Whether the Crystal boards are crap or not -- I have no idea. My guess though is that how you deal with the power supply will make a difference.
Petter