Weiss 204 Dac or LTA Audio Aero Dac as an upgrade from Chord Qutest Dac

I replaced a Qutest with a Weiss 205. Prior to that I replaced the stock Qutest power supply with an iFi Elite, which seemed to improve things. I’m using the Weiss (with Sbooster) into a Benchmark HPA4 and AHB2. Not attenuating the Weiss (so approximately 8 volts vs. the maximum 3 from the Qutest), and using XLR. Those two differences may account for my preferring the Weiss. I also was able to buy the Weiss new for $1350 from Vintage King, before the huge price increases on the 204 and 205. I certainly wouldn’t buy either of them at the current prices.

Also: I had a Rogue RH-5 preamp/headphone amp with the Qutest, prior to the Benchmark HPA4. With the Qutest set to 3V, many recordings would cause clipping. No such problem with the Weiss outputting 8V into the HPA4. (And no problem with 2V from the Qutest into the Rogue.)

I have the Weiss 204 a Lampizator Baltic V4 and a Gustard R26.

They are all good but have different sonic profiles, I would not say one is distinctly better than the rest, what I'd say is each DAC sounds best with certain genres of music.

The 204 excels with music that benefits from when your system prioritizes speed dynamics and clarity. Also it is the most 'transparent' of the 3 DACs.

FYI my system is highly optimized for resolution so take what I've said and interpret it with that in mind.

@kairosman ​​​​​​

I appreciate your comment. I have a Gustard R26 and a U18. I'm using it with a Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer.  I've thought about trying a new dac, but I'm pretty happy with the Gustard.  With the proper cabling it sounds really good.