+1 @jjss49
Buy used. Re-sell at nearly the same price. You have to bear a bit of risk and hassle buying and selling but otherwise, you’re going to take a lot of $$ hits as you try out DAC’s until you’re satisfied.
About TMR, they will check out the gear before you buy it and will stand behind it working for a brief period. But their prices are a little higher than the other used market (generally) and they have this policy:
"Any returns initiated outside of product defects, the customer is responsible for all Shipping and Handling costs, and there will be a 5% restocking fee taken from the refunded amount."
In other words, TMR offers value-added for those who want more guarantees about the gear’s condition and return-ability. This is a big plus for some folks. But that 5% restocking fee, while maybe acceptable for lower priced items, gets unacceptably high for me once I start considering much more expensive items.
If you bought, say, a Denafrips Pontus II from TMR @$1599 and kept it, shipping would cost you $55 and you’d have spent $1650 plus tax, more or less. If returned to TMR, you’d pay $55 shipping each way ($110) and about an $80 restocking fee. Almost $200 to try out a DAC for a month.
Alternatively, you could buy that same DAC from a private seller (check their ratings), and pay (in this case), $1299 plus shipping. If shipping was the same, you’d be out $1350 for the same DAC, but without an option to return it.