Looking for a DAC under 2k

RME ADI-2. Great sound, great display and very flexible. 
Someone mentioned the Jolida tube Dac. Very musical. That’s a really good one as well. Well under a thousand. 

The reviewer doing this review is one of my go to guys.
The One to Beat: Gustard X26 PRO DAC Review (soundnews.net)

I ended up getting this one yesterday ($1500) from SHENZENAUDIO. Got 30 days to return it or get rid of an existing DAC and keep the Gustard.

I'd say go with Pontus II, Matrix X-Sabre Pro MQA or the new Gustard X26 Pro 2.....I have the first two now and wow they are both damn good and close to my 5k Terminator II dac. Let me know if you're interested and I can give you more details about either one.

Is there a quality difference sound vise between balanced output and rca output on these dac’s ?

@gryphongryph Always, I suspect. There are a few things to consider in the balanced vs. single ended (RCA) world.

You really need to know if the equipment internally balanced by design.

If so, then you’re getting reduced distortion because of the noise rejection properties of the design scheme. While this is great for getting rid of noise, it also throws away all even-order harmonics in the distortion profile, leaving only odds. If you read about 2nd harmonic distortion, you’ll see that it actually creates an impression of warmth, body, and 3-dimensionality... and is preferred by some -- but not all -- listeners. For fun, Nelson Pass has actually made a H2 generator that literally injects negative phase second harmonics into the signal path. Like I said, not all ears hear this the same way, though, so you may prefer 3rd order harmonics (or neither), in which case it makes sense to minimize distortion and go fully balanced throughout the system.

So, if the equipment is fully balanced, then you’re throwing away the benefits by using the RCA outputs. If it’s single ended by design, then using the XLR outputs means that the signal is being pushed through a transformer or op-amp circuit to convert from single-ended to "balanced". In this case, you’re not getting any of the noise rejection benefits of the balanced circuitry. Instead, you’re getting whatever the sonic signature is of the added iron or circuitry. I’d say that’s an obvious compromise, but some people do like the sound of a high quality transformer, so perhaps you’ll find it a pleasant addition.