New to DAC, need advice.


I recently purchased a Parasound ZDAC here and it worked well for a short time but then started acting up with short, intermittent bursts of static while streaming Tidal. Then for a day wouldn't play certain parts of the music such as missing a guitar or piano notes. After contacting Parasound they tell me it's a circuit issue. It's out of warranty and they are offering to have me ship it there for repair. It's been error-free for a few days now and in the mean time it's been recommended to me by Jim Williams of Adcom modification fame that I should consider the Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital DAC. It's roughly twice the price I paid for the ZDAC but if I send it in for repair, with shipping, I'll be right around the price of the Pro-ject DAC new, and it can decode MQA files where the ZDAC can't. So I defer to the community here. What's my best option on a limited budget?
ratboysr
@2psyop Thank you very much. I appreciate you educating me without being condescending to my lack of knowledge. You wouldn't have an Ayre lying around that you'd sell to me for the price of the Pro-ject would you? Figured I'd ask...
haha!! Thats great! I can send you the Ayre Codex via fedex. Oh wait I dont have one, even for myself to use. I would either try to Pro-Ject and let us all know how it sounds....or save a few bucks and get the Bluesound. But hey don’t forget the Meridian Explorer 2 for $199.00. It is a USB DAC stick that will handle Tidal MQA. Great for testing the waters...
@2psyop Well I got the Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital. I appreciate everyone's input. I can say without hesitation this DAC is FAR superior to the Parasound Zdac whether playing MQA files or anything else. I could not be happier with my choice. To my ears it is simply amazing.
I may have missed it up thread, OP, but what is your budget?  Also, do you need a CDP?  Many players have Digital inputs so that their DACs can be used by other digital sources