Best DAC / Budget

For $1300 the Gustard X26 Pro is a steal. It is an incredible DAC. I would love it if someone would compare this to $10K to $20K DACs. This DAC will not be out of place with the very best systems.

It runs rather hot though (temperature wise). Going to be a hot summer of music listening for me. The Benchmark DAC3B that I also have is now relegated to computer and TV sound via TOSLINK.  The music is now coming out of 2 relatively low priced heavy hitters, the Gustard X26 Pro and the AudioMirror Tubadour III SE.

I believe I saw that your budget was 2k? Thats probably about the most interesting price point that you could have. 

Like many of us I suddenly had a lot of extra time on my hands last year and in my case, I had a brand new unfurnished place to do something with....I tried literally everything I could get my hands on. Naturally I had to try ALL the modern DACs

2K is an interesting price for DACs right now because if buying new you are looking at the the Chord Hugo 2/Brooklyn DAC+ sort of range. If I had to pick something in that general range for you..given that you are streaming tidal, I would choose the matrix MQA sabre Pro. The 9038Pro in that one is an 8 channel chip and it handles those MQA files effortlessly....but ultimately I kept DACs below and over 2k and found 2k to be a good price point when looking for a headphone amp/DAC type deal.

My suggestion would be to not pay that much for that chip and get the Gustard X26 Pro that was mentioned above....was very impressed...super clean with barely any color except when using some of the PCM filters. I thought the 2 best DACs .. and ones I kept were the Holo Audio May KTE and the Hegel HD30...I would wait to get one of those used or buy an earlier model of Hegels. Both of the make me feel like a spoiled scumbag daily......until my girlfriend takes control of the playlist! No DAC can save me then!

Goodluck!

You have already gotten a lot of good recommendations. I really like my Schiit amp and have heard a lot of good things about their dacs. Maybe you can find a used Yggdrasil for less than $2k?

Or go down in price and try Okto.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/okto-dac8-stereo-da-processor

Shitt dacs don’t do MQA.  They’re still great, but you have to weigh that going in. 

I have a very similar analog rig as you. I have an ear 834 p and vpi classic 3. My digital is a chord cutest direct usb from iMac. I stream through tidal. I a/b the exact song from analog to digital and vice versa and the sq is very close. I’d look into the chord cutest. It also has a gain selection. Fantastic dac. Around 1500.