I know you said "serviced in the US" - but you could always try a Gustard from Amazon just to get a comparison unit. This would enable you to have at least 2 DACs in your possession at one time. I have an X26 Pro (which I consider a great value) and I think they may have upped their game with the R26. There are upgrade paths with the Gustard such as an external DDC an external clock (which admittedly results in more boxes and interconnects) but the power supply is internal. I do prefer the I2S input on my X26, which requires a DDC (mine is a very inexpensive Douk Audio with an LPS)
Not sure if you have Whole Foods where you live, but that's how I do my Amazon returns. They also do returns at the UPS Store. Pretty low risk and an easy way to get another "point on the curve"