I don’t own one myself, but I’ve seen and heard nice comments.
To be honest, the DAC/amp I’d pick if I had to keep only one would be the old-fashioned Practical Devices XM5. It’s a bit more expensive, it’s plain-looking, it uses mini (not micro) USB, and it’s the opposite of ergonomic. But…it’s worked at 24-bit/96KHz with every laptop and desktop I own, it’s got every feature I want (including cross-feed), and the (built-in) battery lasts a long time. Plus, it’s heavy enough that it stays on my desk when I need it to and I doubt it would break even if I threw it at the floor. I’ve used it with Grados, BeyerDynamics, Sonys, Sennheisers, and just about anything else you can think of. For $275 (with the LiIon battery and fast-charger option), it just gets the job done.
Anybody have any luck/experience playing DSD audio (1 bit/2822.4 kHz (or multiples, even 24.576 MHz exists)) through any of those DACs? I ask only out of morbid curiosity.
Hmm…you’d think getting the plug-and-play part right would be of prime importance when designing these. I 100% believe you. I am just amazed that Schiit didn’t nail this aspect. Clearly when people first setup their system and it all goes to hell out of the box they are going to have a lot of unhappy customers.
I was considering a Modi/Vali 2 stack. Now I am not so sure. Maybe try the less expensive Hel and see how that goes.