I have that smsl stack. It’s very good. I can believe the El stack sounds a bit better given I also have an atom and jds hit that one out of the park. The smsl stack would give you balanced though.
BTW, what headphones are you using or plan to use?
177x, 880, various IEMs and possibly 58x or BLON 03. Lol just random stuff currently in rotation.
Su8 is currently cheaper on Drop right now than the Enog2. I know the Enog doesn’t have usb. Which would you take?
Second question… I’m lost as to how the single output on the Archel2.5 works. Can you utilize both single or balanced headphones without harming the amp if you have both the XLR and RCA hooked up?
There seems to be “Add cart” and order possibilty.
Should not be that hard. 
So I think the enog 2 and su8 are great, they both sound very good, I think the enog might sound a bit better but the su8 has way more features
The archel has balanced in and single ended out, so you would need a single ended adapter to use a balanced headphone
The Topping DX7 pretty much has everything you want. on sale right now on drop for 325$
If the enog 2 is 10/10 and the su8 is 9/10 what would you rate the d10?
7.5/10 imo, it’s got really great performance for the price imo
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Just going to say I have def heard better for the price lol
What would be the best sounding dac for $100?
Personally I like the d10 for that range lol. I think if you bought used perhaps you could get something better but that really depends on what’s around you
But that’s a portable dac amp lol, not really the best choice to pair with a desktop amp (but the btr5 is pretty great)
Sorry, I only read the heading of the topic.
And the BTR5 works superbly on my laptop, but as a Dac / Amp combination.
Didn’t notice that he only asked for a Dac.
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The Topping DX3 also went on sale for 165$:
K5 pro will be here Friday. I’m curious to know if there’s any feedback to Z’s comparison in the K5 review stating that he couldn’t detect a difference between the ENOG2/Atom combo versus the K5. I assume this is due to the Atom being comparable and not necessarily the ENOG2 source? Can i assume that i’d detect a major difference between the Geshelli stack and the K5?
With a full g stack with the archel 2.5 pro and enog 2 pro I think you would be able to for sure. I also think the atom + enog would be detectable as well. TBH Z doesn’t have the best ear for dacs and amps imo, some of his reviews can be a bit inconstant when it comes to that. He can tell what’s good and what’s not in general, but the nuances and stuff like that he doesn’t seem to pick up. The k5 pro is dang solid for the price though, I don’t think you would be dissatisfied
is there an opinion in sound versus the k5? i know the dx3 has bluetooth and is feature packed. curious in a comparison precisely based on soundstage and imaging.
The dx3 is a dac first and an amp second imo. The k5 pro more focuses on the amp portion. I think the k5 pro has more impact and control, and also is more capable on staging. The bit better dac in the dx3 may give it a slight benefit in imaging, but personally if you didn’t need the other features the k5 pro is my pick