Have you considered the Schiit Lyr? It’s a hybrid that’s pretty good. Plenty of power for most any headphones and you can tube roll it (one 6sN7).
@ValentineLuke Yup 
I have for a while but never got around to scooping one up.
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I would consider that mid-range!
Coming in with limited experience: the G111 should do okay for staging. I haven’t heard the MK2, but I briefly had the original in house. Thought it was pretty neutral with a slightly warmer lean.
The ones most often thrown around the 500 bucks range are the G111, the Liquid Platinum and the RNHP. The RNHP is more intimate and the Platinum you already have.
Above that I have only had the Violectric V281 which is pretty good at stage, also a slightly warmer lean and have heard it recommended as an upgrade to the G111. The V280 should do well enough and can occasionally be found below 1000. Though I have no clue on how it’d pair with your dacs and might be a bit much depending on the jump you want to do.
(Btw: you have a great profile pic)
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RNHP (probably less if you want to focus on single ended according to folks here)
LTA MZ2
Burson Soloist 3XP if you like the presentation
Quicksilver
These come to mind and I’m sure there are more
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@orrman I’ve had my eye on a soloist for some time. What do you mean by presentation?
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I think so, I use tidal sometimes and same benefits. The fact that you’re off a pc source, I find, is key.
While I do think it should matter, you won’t really find a plethora of information on sonic differences b/w different streamers, unfortunately. Either way, it will be an improvement regardless. So, in your case, I’d put budget, features, and interface priority over what the streamer would sound like. Then focus on any sonic shifts further down the chain (ie. cables, tubes, amp, dac, etc…).
It totally makes sense to me. If you’re doubtful it will make a difference, getting an inexpensive one is likely a great way to know if you’ll be willing to spend more on it down the line. In my case, I don’t really doubt the advice given to me on here. I’ll remain somewhat skeptical, but ultimately I just went straight for the streamer my budget could afford at the time (aries g1), and never looked back.
Fwiw, I’m not a big fan of how the g1 sounds stock so the psu mod, imo, is a must (~$500 usd additional). Big selling point of the g1 is wifi, app (apple devices only), and offline playback.
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I’m not a fan of Burson so if you’re looking for hype and encouragement you should probably look elsewhere but to my ears the Burson was dry and analytical without a lot going for it. From memory I think it was clean and dynamic but lacked weight and ended up being a bit boring for me. YMMV as it also depends on headphones and rest of the chain obviously
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Although I didn’t test the SE inputs, fwiw, I do not like the soloist BAL in SE out, only BAL all the way. SE to me sounded noticeably v-shaped, harsh, and dry.
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I’d prefer an honest opinion. 
X2 has anyone heard the Gustard R26? I need to pickup another Dac around this price point for my 2 channel rig and was looking at the R26 or X26. Perhaps step down to an MHDT orchid but not sure.
Ok, so ive been kinda feeling this for a few days but I think today its become the most clear. My system is clearly worse in the afternoon than then morning. Worse detail and control, slightly more smeared/muted, tone is no longer “rich” but unstead “fuzzy” etc. Is it safe to assume this is a power issue? Or anything else I can test that would be time dependant? The system seems to get a bit better starting about 4pm as people are going home. My office is dead silent at all times so I know that background noise isn’t the issue FWIW.
It’s probably power. But it could also be you. I’ve noticed on myself that I’m a different listener as the day goes along. So it’s less about how my system sounds and more about how I perceive and enjoy it.
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This was my initial assumption (and why I didnt comment until now) but today kinda set in my mind it was just mood since I was kinda tweaked this AM but am feeling much happier now and I’m still finding the same differences.
Try it over the weekend when no one is there and see if it’s still bad in the afternoon
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Could be current usage, maybe you share a breaker with multiple coworkers so the current availability is limited while they are using power.
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No badge access over the weekend
Have you already thought about taking it home to try?
Just not realy feasible. My house is louder than at work, the multi day warm up on the dac is pretty rough, and I don’t have a place to set it up at home either (no desk)
So my friend who’s about 10 mins from me let me borrow his TT2 last night. It’s definitely not what I’m looking for. IMO it’s too polite and doesn’t really engage me at all. It lays all the music out in a nice picture but it’s one of those art pieces that I look at once and then say “that looks nice” and then walks away a second later. I can see why some people stop there and don’t look for more though but I think I’d pick up another Ygg before getting the TT2.
So I think I’ll probably pass on the meitner since it’s not very popular in the US and resale might be difficult in the event it doesn’t work for me. I think macrodynamics is fairly high on my list and having that hook to engage me into the music. Is Totaldac the one to get for that? (Sorry for the waffling)
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Possible yes to all said. Early morning hours and later evening hours ALWAYS sound better to me.
Power draw is minimal at those hours, environment is quietest and in the early morning after full sleep my ears and mind are at their sharpest. These factors all affect my listening, why should it be different for others? I am very in-tune with my systems and myself so these factors are known to me and also set my expectations.
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