I purchased the Gungnir and the Meridian Director at the same time. At first I thought the Meridian was a better sounding dac, and regulated the Gungnir to headphone listening. The Gungnir was rather congested sounding out of the box, where the Meridian was open with a wide soundstage.  I had a very expensive Krell set up before my divorce and I sold all of my equipment as depression set it. I vowed never to get back into hi end again. After many years of car audio and talk radio I decided to purchase a Samsung Bluetooth speaker with tube preamp...