As someone who has spent literally THOUSANDS of hours casting DS and DSIIs (7 and 8wt), I have this observation to make about them -
You can make quite a few modern rods feel like a DS series rod by drastically overlining them. The 8wt DS is the equivalent of a "modern" (last decade) 6wt, and throws everything from a 4wt to a 9wt line.
If you would like a rod that is flexible, forgiving, with a wide bandwidth of "UX positivity", you might want to visit the nearest flyshop that sells ECHO products and test-cast the Lift model. Great rod to learn and grow with.
Thank you. I'm going to check out the Lift for sure and pretty sure they carry them at a local shop. Sounds like it might be a bit similar to the DS2 and around $100, definitely budget friendly.