My advice, just get a dap that suits you and has the features you want. Even the so called 'mid range' daps sound fantastic. You're not get exponentially better sound for more $$$ these days.
With Sony, you know the firmware will be solid and it will be quality. If I didn't stumble across the R5 I'd probably be buying this because I like Sony gear. I will be demo-ing it though for sure
But honestly performance wise I don't think it's going to eclipse say the m11, r5, m6, dx160 etc.
I say that based on the fact that the two I've listened to (m11, r5) sounded very similar to wm1a. And I would be surprised if this sounded any different.
Not taking anything away from Sony, they have good battery life and are rock solid. I'm just saying there are some other very good more economical choices.
Still waiting for a true anniversary model though.