Will an Auralic Vega best my Meridian 508.24 significantly?

I was up until 1AM reading reviews about that Schiit. Almost everyone seems to think it is fantastic, but it has to be on for an entire week to warm up! I would feel more comfortable with the purchase if there were a review by Stereophile showing measurements. There is a lot of hype and fanboyism surrounding Yggy. 

I can get a used Vega or the new Schiit YGGDRASIL for the same price. I like the clock and filter flexibility, and the design of the Vega. It would be disappointing to get it and find out that my CDP isn't good enough to lock in on the most precise clock mode over coax though. My biggest concern with the Auralic Vega is that there is only a 90 day warranty, and the company and its founders don't have a lot of history. In my experience, people offer short warranties for a reason. Maybe this is great fun for them, but they want the option to just move on to something else later. I'd like to see a greater commitment to their business and customers. 

The Schiit has a five year warranty and a 15 day return option too. If my Schiit broke down 8 years later, there is a decent chance I COULD get it repaired for a reasonable cost. On the downside, it does seem to be a quirky piece of gear with its outrageous warmup requirements and syncing issues.

The reviews I've read of the Chord Hugo put it well behind the Vega. It doesn't have balanced outputs. I'm a believer that the power supply for a piece of audio equipment is really important too, and I don't see that with the Hugo.

The rest of my system is:

Sonic Frontiers Line2 SE+ with upgraded volume controller and V-Cap Cutf interstage caps. Running Genalex Gold Lion tubes.

Pass Labs XA30.5 amp.

Revel Performa3 M106 speakers. 

Well, i don't own a Shiit, I bought an AR DAC 8, and the Shiit to me was closest to it of the one's we listened to.  I also like the Ayre DAC's a great deal. I wouldn't put too much on Stereophile's measurements.  Sorry.  Unless a DAC is seriously broken they just don't reveal much, and I might say the sam of the reviews. :) 

During that same process I also learned I'm not a fan of using a Mac as a source.  This is another thing.  While I'm usually a big fan of Ayre DAC's the Mac Mini, despite upgrades, made it's top end sound really hard.  Point is, even if Stereophile gives it a great review, and mesures fabulously, it may not work well with your source.  So it's important to look and listen for yourself.  

One of my pet peeves is Stereophile measures USB DAC's under the best possible conditions, while battery operated.  Bah.  That's like rating a Kayak in a bath tub. 

Best,


Erik