Thanks everyone for answers and suggestions.@soix: I know what I’m asking for seems to invite some tube gear recommendations. However, there are also some other things I care very much for in audio reproduction and I didn’t mention because between the 2 Metrum dacs they were irrelevant. One of them is a very low noise floor / "a black background". I’m using powered studio monitors, often nearfield and in a quiet environment and the hiss is annoying me a lot. Also, I didn’t like the Gungnir’s grey background (or at least this was my perception). So I’m a bit afraid of tubes... On the other hand, I’m more of the "set and forget" kind in this period of my like, I don’t want to think about hunting for new tubes, maybe NOS ones, learn about testing or even matching them etc. So I’d rather stay fully solid state, if possible.
You guys are asking me if I like an exaggerated soundstage. To be honest, I don’t know. But I’ve never had the feeling that the stage is too wide, so maybe the answer is positive. I like the soundstage ("headstage"?) width of my first audiophile headphones (AKG K500 and later on AKG K501) very much. My current source, while much cheaper and indisputably much lower quality that the dacs in discussion (Cambridge D300 CD player), has a wide soundstage too which I also enjoy - wider that the unbalanced outputs of the Schiit dac. I have perceived the very wide soundstage of the Sennheiser HD800 headphones as a great asset, not as being exaggerated.
You guys are asking me if I like an exaggerated soundstage. To be honest, I don’t know. But I’ve never had the feeling that the stage is too wide, so maybe the answer is positive. I like the soundstage ("headstage"?) width of my first audiophile headphones (AKG K500 and later on AKG K501) very much. My current source, while much cheaper and indisputably much lower quality that the dacs in discussion (Cambridge D300 CD player), has a wide soundstage too which I also enjoy - wider that the unbalanced outputs of the Schiit dac. I have perceived the very wide soundstage of the Sennheiser HD800 headphones as a great asset, not as being exaggerated.