I bought this used with a reported 500 hours on it, so I assume it is broken in.
I really like the Mini-i, the soundstage is HUGE! (width & depth)
It also has a lot of texture and airiness to the mids, instrument sounds seem expanded.
Along with the soundstage, the instrumental separation is very good too,
(most of the time) Things only seem to get "muddy" with a huge wall of sound.
That is, many instruments playing at the same time in a crescendo.
But that is also typical of many dacs, amps and phones.
My only real complaint is that some of the highs that are not center stage
are rolled off, or seem to be muted somewhat and put in the background.
I am comparing this to my other DAC which has great treble characteristics.
(almost sibilant)
So now I see what everyone is referring to regarding the mini-i's sound sig
being almost tube-like.
I have not tried the balanced outputs yet, so my perceptions may change.
(I am hoping for the better)
Right now I'm using USB, and mostly lo-res recordings, so that limits things as well.
I know that I will be having a great time exploring the limits of this machine.