Best Bang for your Buck DAC ?

the smsl su-9 at around $400 is an extremely impressive piece--great sounding dac + preamp w/remote + bluetooth streamer. numerous connectivity/tuning options.

@jiss49 Thank you. 100% on the mark.

Regardless of possible biases, your suggestion that the OP just go and listen to DAC is right. Either someone actually likes what they hear OR they convince themselves that they like what they hear. Either way they are happy with their choice. Being happy with your choice is basically all that matters in audio.

Running Volumio on rpi4 into a Topping D10s. No complaints. It’s a USB only dac with excellent performance and is powered by the pc. Easily the best $100 I’ve spent. 

I see @loomisjohnson recommended the SMSL SU-9. I emailed SMSL about the differences in the SU-9 vs the M500. SMSL replied that they have tested them side by side many times and there is no audible difference. I suspect that there is something but.... The SU9 has 2 ES9038pro chips, the M500 has 1. The SU9 does have bluetooth, the M500 is a stand alone DAC, they both have a headphone amp, a remote, handle MQA, single ended and balanced output. The SU9 uses the Xmos XU208, the M500 uses the Xmos XU216. Not sure that there is any interest here for the op, but I wanted to at least mention the differences. Good Luck

I'm a big fan of the Schiit Gungnir multibit. After many hours of play I still like it a lot. The others mentioned here may also be good but the Gumby is so pleasant I am not driven to replace it at the moment.