Actually the Topping e30 is $130.00 and has digital and usb. People say it works well with the a3
Ive heard the enog2 and el dac on the a3. Enog2 is analytical and the el dac is smooth. Either one is good imo.
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or the schiit modiusā¦ balanced dac with both usb and digital for $199.00 designed to pair with the A3
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How does the modius sound?
In all honesty I do not have oneā¦ I have a Bifrost on the wayā¦ There are many here that have one though.
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you can check out the modius thread for some impressions over here; š· Schiit Modius
I have not heard the modius myself but it seems some people find it to be smooth and on the warmer side when compared to the e30 and enog2.
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I had to send my Modius back because of a USB issue. IMO the sound is not super different from the E30. Compared to the E30, I noticed more subbass and thought it was just a bit wider. Very slight differences to my ear, but like the stack with the A3 and I like having two outputs (so I can run one to my ESP95X in addition to the A3). Assuming the replacement doesnāt have the USB issue, I can recommend it.
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I really like my E30 a lot. Havenāt had too many other DACs so others might be able to help more, but it measures really well and sounds exceptional for the price point.
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The nice thing with the modius it has balanced for $199ā¦great specs if your into that.
And it matches the A3 nicelyā¦makes a really nice stackā¦
Its a DS dac and not a MB dacā¦I have a B2 and its my gold standard after chasing lots of other multi thousand dollar dacsā¦
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You can purchase the MB card. It will be cheaper than the BF2 and it will fit inside your A3 to make it tidier.
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I just bought a B Stock Asgard 3. Gonna try it out with my Modi 2 Uber first when it arrives to see if I even need to upgrade my dac. The Modius and the E30 are definitely in my sights with the E30 having the edge due to it being available on Amazon.
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You know what Iāve yet to read? A compelling argument for getting the multibit rather than the normal DAC card.
Maybe this will help
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Very nice write-up and concise!
As I get older I enjoy ābite-sizeā education. 
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Although I havenāt bought both DAC cards to compare, I can give you my anecdotal observations coming from an M100 delta sigma to a BF2 Multibit if it helps you.
Sure. And arenāt most dacs Delta sigma?
Not necessarily. I think youāll commonly find both. Also, I think the actually chip or R-2R isnāt the important part, but the implementation of it.
In short, when I dipped my toes in multibit, I felt a large improvement in sound stage, dynamics, bass slam, and timbre. The instruments sound a lot closer to its sound and voices sound more like voices.
I made a longer write up here, in case you were more curious and have some time to kill.
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I have both the modi 3 and the multibit dac card and the most noticeable difference I heard is that the modi 3 sounds a bit brighter.
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Modi 3 definitely sounds brighter (and not as clean) than my Topping e30
It is regrettable that thereās no way for me to try both out and A/B the sigma delta and the multi-bit chip. That alone would settle the argument. Of course the same can be said for pretty much all audiophile gear. Basically, if itās not sold at the local Best Buy, Iām purchasing stuff entirely on the bases of fora such as this. To be frank, I donāt like that at all.
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