Audioengr
Have you actually tried to listen to both outputs before concluding that they are the same?
Of course. I mod a LOT of these, so I listen to them continually.
The folks that are reporting better results probably have the older DAC-1 that has high-impedance RC outs. The newer units have low impedance on both Balanced and RCA's, and separate buffering as well. The buffers/drivers are identical on both.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio