I did do the comparison a while ago, but I can't do it again as my 0404 modding is not ready yet. So no analogue outs

If I remember correctly the 0404 did indeed sound a bit better (though it was modded a bit), but it still paled to my amplifier with dac. I'd suggest the microdac as an upgrade.

what amp and dac would that be marek

Amp was a Lehmann Audio Black Cube Linear and the dac was a kenwood krf-v6030d receiver. It's a cheap model and I was going to replace it with the dac from 0404 but astonishingly I prefer the kenwood. It's slower, but has a much better texture for sounds.

One reason im having hard time justifying purchase of MicroDAC is it uses almost the same dac chip as the x-fi.. one step down 4382 vs 4392.. they are going to sound extremly similiar I think. The MicroDAC will win slightly from not having opamps in the signal path and slightly better chip, but not sure it's 300$ better. From what I been reading the 404 actually has AKM dac that is superior to even that of the MicroDAC. for 80 bucks.. hmm why can't this **** be easy