I don't think such a thing exists, and if it does it'll have a subpar DAC for the price. Your options are quite limited: normally fully balanced (truly balanced circuitry, not just XLR outputs) costs a fortune and is not integrated into one device. The only solution in your price range I can think of that is worth a damn is the Schiit Gungnir Multibit + Mjolnir 2 stack.
I don't think such a thing exists, and if it does it'll have a subpar DAC for the price. Your options are quite limited: normally fully balanced (truly balanced circuitry, not just XLR outputs) costs a fortune and is not integrated into one device. The only solution in your price range I can think of that is worth a damn is the Schiit Gungnir Multibit + Mjolnir 2 stack.
Hmm I should have clarified. As you get into the fully balanced realm, all in one devices like that become more rare, as the designers want to make one incredible device usually. As you go higher in price, the products are more meticulously designed, and cramming both a DAC and amp in the same chassis is a limitation so you'll see less of that in these extreme price ranges. In fact, you'll start to see the opposite of what you want, such as amps that separate the power supply into another chassis.
I seriously cannot name a single device that has both a fully balanced DAC and headphone amp. I think Audio-GD might have something like that (or did in the past), but with that kind of money you can do so much better... and if your signature is any indication, you already have much better with the HeadAmp GS-X Mk2. That amp is a perfect example of what manufacturers strive for when making high end fully balanced equipment: less about integration and compacting, more about overkill and redundancy. It seems that if you want compact, you're going to be going single ended.
Hmm I should have clarified. As you get into the fully balanced realm, all in one devices like that become more rare, as the designers want to make one incredible device usually. As you go higher in price, the products are more meticulously designed, and cramming both a DAC and amp in the same chassis is a limitation so you'll see less of that in these extreme price ranges. In fact, you'll start to see the opposite of what you want, such as amps that separate the power supply into another chassis.
I seriously cannot name a single device that has both a fully balanced DAC and headphone amp. I think Audio-GD might have something like that (or did in the past), but with that kind of money you can do so much better... and if your signature is any indication, you already have much better with the HeadAmp GS-X Mk2. That amp is a perfect example of what manufacturers strive for when making high end fully balanced equipment: less about integration and compacting, more about overkill and redundancy. It seems that if you want compact, you're going to be going single ended.
Hugo 2 isn't balanced at all, but it'll sound better than a lot of balanced systems and has a quality amp. That's what I'd get, one small box and it sounds amazing. As you said, Utopia doesn't need a monster amp like the HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 anyway.
AudioGD NFB-28. No built in streamer but at under $1,000 you can get any similarly priced streamer with digital output and use it with this. Analogue signal is fully balanced.
Unless by "integrated amp/DAC" you mean an integrated amplifier for speakers that has balanced drive headphone output and a DAC, in which case, AudioGD stopped making theirs (and even then the old ones had no DACs in them). If this is the case and you can spend up to five grand you can get the NFB-28, a streamer, and then blow the rest on a pure power amp that has balanced inputs, and use the preamp output from the NFB-28 to control the speakers' power amp.
Hugo 2 isn't balanced at all, but it'll sound better than a lot of balanced systems and has a quality amp. That's what I'd get, one small box and it sounds amazing. As you said, Utopia doesn't need a monster amp like the HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 anyway.
AudioGD NFB-28. No built in streamer but at under $1,000 you can get any similarly priced streamer with digital output and use it with this. Analogue signal is fully balanced.
Unless by "integrated amp/DAC" you mean an integrated amplifier for speakers that has balanced drive headphone output and a DAC, in which case, AudioGD stopped making theirs (and even then the old ones had no DACs in them). If this is the case and you can spend up to five grand you can get the NFB-28, a streamer, and then blow the rest on a pure power amp that has balanced inputs, and use the preamp output from the NFB-28 to control the speakers' power amp.
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