You’re killing me hahaha
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Collddd Bloodeeddd. 
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I love the warmth of Burr-Brown chips.
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I also am a fan of the Burr-B-C DACs… my current favorite though is the latest AKM Chips
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Have you listened to Chord Qutest? I assume you’ve listened to the Dave and possibly Hugo2. I know the RME is a hard value to beat with an AKM.
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I have, but only briefly.
But yes the RME is my Primary DAC… bang for the buck it just is very hard to beat. Apparently, I need to hear this amazing FRND DAC…(it sure does seem like a friendly DAC…can’t quite put my finger on why Friend keeps coming to mind…hmmm…Fidelice (F) Rupert ® Neve (N) Designs (D) the FRND=Friend! ah ha!..I see what you did there Fidelice…playing with peoples minds…for shame 
)
The problem is 5k for a DAC is a massive pill to swallow…I thought, and so do all my non-audio friends that the SR1A and even my ZMF collection was “NUTZ!!”
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Just finished a quick video of my first impressions, you can check it out here:
Needless to say I’m super into this DAC, and now I need to spend money 
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We found the inspiration!
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$5k is indeed too much for me. But with their results and pedigree, I totally understand the price point. There do exist some pricey AIO’s that don’t even include balanced output, cough, Dave. Plus, it’s only a third the cost of the dCS Bartok. 
Looking forward to your impressions on the friendly dac.
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Excellent video! It’s pretty awesome how apparent and sincerely blown away you were by the RNDAC. Makes me wonder if I really need both kidneys. 
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I’m wondering the same thing. For my kidneys I mean…
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For anyone who is wondering, here are the filter options with the switches on the back:
I’ve tried playing with them a bit, but I don’t notice a huge difference - as is to be expected with filters. Interesting to see the default (and RN preference) is the slow roll-off filter. Naturally I’m most curious about AKM “high-quality sound” filter.
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Balanced headphone output gets way too much focus.
On units that offer both, the balanced connection generally gives a small improvement in crosstalk and low-level micro-dynamics due to not sharing a ground line between drivers. Beyond that, the only benefits with headphones are the potential for increased power.
I say potential because not all headphone outputs/amplifiers actually give you more power from the balanced output. The headphone output on the Fidelice Precision DAC is a case in point … you get the same 1W at 16Ω whether you use the single-ended or the balanced output.
And then there’s the fact that a balanced output will have twice the noise over a single-ended output of the same topology (you’ll typically see this as a 6 dB, or so, variation in the noise measurements between the SE and BAL outputs, and that’s shown right there in the spec for the unit in question here) and, typically, higher distortion as well.
Anyway, the point is that provided the amplifier has the power you need from its single-ended output then it having balanced headphone output is literally the LEAST technically important feature to be concerned about - from a sound-quality perspective at any rate.
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So I’m assuming you don’t run headphones balanced. Benchmark’s white paper on single ended hits the same points you’ve shared, but it’s a feature that consumers look for. I believe that’s why they included it on their HPA4.
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I do run balanced headphones, depending on what source/amp I’m using.
But I don’t consider it a must-have feature, and its literally the last thing I think about. I’m much more interested in what sound a unit delivers than how it does it.
The point is not that you shouldn’t do it, nor that there aren’t benefits in some cases, just that it is WAY overblown in importance by most enthusiasts.
And I get that consumers look for the feature. I also understand that most of them don’t really understand the benefits and trade-offs and have just become conditioned to think “balanced is better”, when that is by no means necessarily the case.
You see the same desires with balanced outputs on DACs and inputs on amplifiers. In most cases you get no practical benefit unless a) you have line noise issues (which balanced can help with, but isn’t a cure) or b) are operating with long runs of cables in an electrically noisy environment (very very rare in home settings).
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I agree with most of those points as there are scientific measurements to back them.
And for the fortunate owners of the RNDAC, Fidelice has given them options.
My guess is slow roll off, standard group delay with a third unknown filter judging by the switch positions of the other six filters.
I’d like to see amirm at ASR get his hands on this unit for measurements. The original RNHP would be good to see measurements on as well. Maybe when I make a decision on the replacement for the 2nd RNHP I returned I’ll send him mine if he hasn’t received one by then.
I think the problem is the word “balanced.” It’s a great marketing word.
If you have a choice between “single-ended” and “balanced,” balanced just sounds better.
We’ve also dealt with a lot of people who think balanced outputs offer twice the power, or that they have a dedicated amp for each channel etc.
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