Price: $350
Website: www.hegel.com
Ron said: The Hegel Music Systems HD2 is the Swiss Army knife of high-end audio -- but imagine such a knife with a Kikuichi Yanagi sushi blade. For the absolutely sane price of $350, the HD2 would be a bargain even if it were only a DAC or a USB-to-S/PDIF converter. The fact that it does both more than competently makes it a real standout, especially when you consider the competition.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Low-priced DAC with a Norwegian twist.