Need a DAC Recommendation.

Chord qutest or used chord hugo 2

Save your money and get a used ps audio DS jr dac, it will blow these mentioned dacs away in sq and in features. For example: do the other dacs above have an Ethernet connection? Fpga based? I2s input? (I2s and Ethernet are the best inputs to use on a dac), free firmware upstages that provide new features and sounds better, MQA support, up samples to dsd? Most of these other dacs mentioned above don’t provide even 1 of these features let alone all of them. You can get a used jr for around $2400

The rme adi-2 dac is tough to beat at it’s price point.

FYI, the Border Patrol's tube is not part of a buffered output, but part of the the signal path. That might help differentiate it from other tube DACs.

For clarification: The tube in the Border Patrol is part of the power supply, not the audio signal path.