I already have a G4 and it’s good enough but doesn’t have a Quad DAC.
I could buy a V30 for around $150 refurbished, or Echobox Explorer for $99 at Drop.
The main difference between them audio-wise is that V30 has a es9018p which is a System on Chip, and Explorer has Burr Brown pcm1792a which many audiophiles love how it sounds.
I can’t find any measurements for Explorer to see how the DAC is implied.
Also, I want to use it as a DAC for my amp, and I know V30 has an AUX mode but Explorer has only a headphone out (the other is digital out).
A lot of the reviews on drop are bashing it quite a bit.
Echobox have fallen through, that is why Drop are selling them at a low price. In my opinion it’s not worth buying the econobox as there would be no patches and people see it more as a gimmick anyway.
Get the G4, or if you are looking to get something in that $150 range there are plenty of nice options. Such as some of the Fiio stuff like the Fiio BTR5, which is also bluetooth. You’d just need to have your music on your phone or an external device to use it.
Also in the $150 range would be the iFi Hip Dac, which uses Burr Brown DSD1793 and offers balanced output. If looking for more of a DAP, you could also consider the Fiio M3 Pro, but the V30/V40 do seem like good solutions for minimizing the number of devices needed.