The Burson Audio Conductor 3 might be worth a listen?..
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It looks pretty sweet. So you are looking into an all in one?
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If I do go for an ‘upgrade’ over the ifi Micro then yes it will probably be an all in one bearing in mind the space and power restrictions on a barge, plus it will probably only need to power a few over ears but mostly IEMs 
I’m still thinking the chord Hugo 2 which would be pretty sweet, should be able to find one used
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Do you know what’s the difference between the Hugo 2 and the Hugo TT2 apart from 
by chance?
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Well the TT is larger and not portable, but it does sound better to me, but I think the portability aspect of the regular one is more something I would want. The TT works better with headphones, where I actually think iems would be better for the regular.
I can’t give a direct comparison as I’ve heard the Hugo 2 a fair bit of times and the TT only briefly at times
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Tt2 also has balanced output that can be set in either line or preamp mode
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TT2 has double the taps that the Hugo2 has, 98,304 vs. 49,152. The Qutest has the same number as the Hugo2 (it’s essentially the same dac without the battery and headphone output).
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/hugott2/
All three units have dual bnc which makes them upgradable with the m scaler which will add over 1M taps.
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You think the m scaler is worth it alone?
Aye Hugo TT2 + M Scaler = $10k I guess it better be?
I mean like would it work well on other dacs that support it?
“the Hugo M Scaler can be used with other DACs with suitable inputs, subject to their decoding capability”
“Although optimised for use with selected Chord Electronics DACs (for the maximum 768kHz upscaling/decoding benefit), the new Hugo M Scaler can be used with other DACs with suitable inputs, subject to their decoding capability. Hugo M Scaler’s advanced upscaling technology can improve the sound quality of all (digital-source) set-ups, whether headphone or desktop-based or within conventional hi-fi systems” so should be ok?
That’s a tough one. I haven’t heard it in person, but I’ve heard of people using it with other dacs with positive results. Is it worth the nearly $5k asking price? Probably more so in conjunction with a Chord dac as you would use its full potential than with a non Chord dac.
That’s a lot of ‘scratch’ so it’s definitely for the buyer to determine. I imagine that if the Chord sound is what you like then it probably is worth it.
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Here is mini version for ~$1000.
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GUSTARD A22 dual AK4499 at $950
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I wish they made a version of the Conductor 3X without a DAC. Just a straight amp, I’d probably bite.
If you can find a used Matrix Audio Element X, that would be my pick.
https://matrix-digi.com/en/products/321.html
I’ve seen them listed on this thread in the past:
They must of heard you…it seems they have one in the pipes. They just launched their DAC only (Composer) and will launch a amp only as well.
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I’ll be getting 3XP for ~2 weeks at the end of Sept / Early Oct… Cant’s wait to spend some time with her.