Help with choosing a balanced DAC (Fosi ZD3 vs Sabaj A20d)

P

paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
I would like to add a balanced DAC to my chain. I have a Hypex based NCore class D amp which accepts both RCA and balanced XLR inputs. The source is a WiiM Pro streamer streaming HiRes audio from internet services. After some research, I found two very well regarded balanced DACs, the Fosi Audio ZD3 and the Sabaj A20d 2022 version both having excellent measurements on the ASR website (maybe with the Sabaj a hair better than the Fosi). Now the Sabaj has full MQA decoding which I don't care for since I don't see myself decoding MQA audio in the near future. The Sabaj is around double the price of the Fosi ZD3. My question is, is the Sabaj really worth that much money over the Fosi in terms of sound and performance. Or is it just the premium for MQA decoding that one has to pay?

If you have other recommendations, I'd like to consider those too. Thanks for your help.

Cheers
Paul
 
isolar8001

isolar8001

Audioholic Field Marshall
I would like to add a balanced DAC to my chain.

Cheers
Paul
Why ?
What's wrong with the DAC in the WiiM Pro ? After all, that what WiiM is charging for.
DAC Fever runs deep in the pool of AudioPhoolery.
 
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