Fantastic review.
I currently have a Gumby and 2Qute in my possession, but am very curious to hear a good NOS dac. I think it may have a sound I would ultimately prefer.
Have you had the chance to compare the Pagoda to the Orchid? Or the difference I might expect coming from a Gumby or 2Qute?
I've narrowed it down to those two and the Metrum Amethyst.
I prefer the Orchid to both the Pagoda and the Metrum Amethyst. I didn't have the Pagoda to compare directly to the Orchid, but I have a pretty good audio memory and was able to compare a modded Atlantis to both directly.
The Amethyst is great, but the Orchid is a slightly more beautiful listen.
The Gumby has a bit more bottom end slam, and is a little less smooth up top than the Orchid.
The Pagoda would be closer to the Gungnir Multibit flavor than the Orchid.
I recently added the Orchid to my MHDT round-up:
http://www.basshead.club/mhdt-labs-pagoda-stockholm-atlantis-and-canary/
Versus the Gungnir Multibit, it's in the same league but has a NOS presentation. Depending on your tastes, you could prefer the Orchid, Pagoda, or Amethyst.
Note, however, that with any of those 3, you're limited a bit by the USB implementation. The USB Gen 5 on Gumby is
much better than the USB on any other DAC I've had in my possession. I'd highly recommend you pick up a Schiit Eitr if you don't have a good USB->S/PDIF converter or something similar so you can reach the full potential of the DACs.