Mytek Liberty Vs. S.M.S.L VMV D1 DAC

D1 is hands down better (i.e. more transparent), unless you want MQA. I fail to see any benefit MQA brings over PCM (and doesn’t allow digital volume control, hinders DSP integrarion, etc.) so I personally wouldn’t let it influence by gear selection. 
 
I mean, just look at the graphs on Stereophile, no filter selection, so all PCM is routed through the MQA filter, giving us aliasing, and terrible IMD in the treble. Granted, with real-world use it may be of no concern, but unless you want MQA, I see no point in buying a worse performing product.

I have the Liberty DAC and it’s a nice piece. It’s very detailed and neutral. I have no experience with the SMSL DAC.

Just a little over your budget, but I would look at the MHDT Labs Orchid. No MQA, no Roon, but it uses R-2R technology and a tube buffer. I like it a lot.

I’m not familiar with the sound signature of your components, but as is often said, system synergy is important.

The Liberty sounds better in my bedroom system that has a class D amp, tube preamp, and Klipsch KLF-30 speakers. It’s a "warm" system and the Liberty complements it.

I have the Orchid in a system comprised of a Peachtree Nova 300 and Focal Electra 1008 BE speakers and it is more detailed and analytical and the Orchid is a nice fit there. I also listen to headphones a lot with that system through a Simaudio 430HA headphone amp, mostly with my LCD-4 and Sony MDR-Z1R headphones.

I listen to a lot of Tidal Masters and hi-res Qobuz files with both systems and can detect differences using the MQA capability in the Liberty, but not enough for it to be a requirement for a DAC. I don’t have a preference for or against MQA, it is different, but not a game changer or deal breaker.

I would put some thought into what’s going to complement your system the most rather than making a decision based on measurements.

Thanks for the replies.  I was curious about r2r, and whether the mqa is worth the effort. 

Any recommendation for a r2r dac with balanced outs? 

My set up is built for both neutral with the thx and warm with the MF. 

The MHDT Labs Pagoda and Stockholm are available in balanced versions.  A little bit more money...  I haven't heard either of those models.