Dac: Does anyhting beat the Schiit Gungnir Multibit (Gumby) in the same price range?

"Try it" is sage advice of course... except for the fact that it's both time consuming and brutally expensive without narrowingly down the field!

What about Chord 2Qute vs Gumby?

"I'm currently comparing the Audio GD to Ares, both have approx. 150 hours so far, I'm leaning toward the Ares right now."

Have you directly compared the Ares to the well-regarded dacs from Metrum and Schiit?  

Celo,

Hard to imagine that a 20 yr old dac could extract the detail and realistic soundstaging that modern chips and design can accomplish! Is your Bitstream modded?

You use the Bitstream exclusively for redbook? Have you compared it with other dacs in your own system with the same music?

4hannons,

What are your two favorite dacs? What music do you listen to?