I agree that the Jot seems to follow the same theory about DAC replaceability (assuming they actually develop new DAC boards for it). The thing I like most about it is that, at the price point, it is balanced from the DAC on. They have 2 DAC chips feeding into the amp section, so it seems like a more complete circle than having the amp split the output from something like the Dragonfly. I highly doubt it makes much of a difference, but I like the idea. I do wish they had a multi-bit option for that as well, but maybe that will come eventually as an upgrade?
This amp will sit on ia corner of my desk, so having one self-contained system with one plug, one USB cable, and one headphone cable is preferable. Eventually, I want to get something like the Yggdrasil or Gungnir MB for my dedicated listening area.
The reason I was leaning away from Valhalla was the same reason I was leaning away from the CTH, neither is balanced. I think buke9 is very possibly right, and I may never be able to tell the difference between a quality SE and a quality balanced. However, I would rather spend a little (ok maybe a lot) more and get a balanced tube or tube hybrid and not worry about it, even if it's only an issue that I'm imagining anyway. It seems like the Jot provides a very solid and hopefully future proof contained system.
