Now they aren't, I didn't get it all yesterday. Anyways I own this unit and my conclusions match yours. This is the one to get. At 250 it's a steal. The M12 was competent if flawed but it also cost half. This is the real deal and competes with units costing double that are much less portable. For those you're really talking something that's less "portable" in the true sense and more "can carry it with you so it's portable shut up" levels.
As for the "samey ESS" not all implementations are the same as this unit proves. I don't know what voodoo they came up with but this one is not the same. ESS sort of took over and with rare exceptions (ifi and burr brown, the various AKM options, chord and their FPGA stuff) you're getting an ESS if you want a good DAC. It should be said the sucker is about 60 bucks on it's own as a part it's not a cheap component or option but any means there's a reason it's the current "gold standard" but implementation is everything now. I'd also note that you can totally get a 4.4 TRRS IEM cable for like 20 bucks on the cheap, 50-100 for a good one, and then of course there is the crazy at up to 4k made by elves with a show case (still not snake oil they don't claim it does something it does not, they just claim it looks purtty and is hand made in small amounts and they have to keep the lights on and it's boutique so fuck it!). While I'm still not entirely sold on the need for balanced connection over IEMs (there's not enough power involved for it to make shit difference in most cases) it is out there.
FWIW the CMA12 and CMA15 are worth a look from the desktop standpoint. Granted they do demand a desktop cost (1500 and 2500).
One thing I like about queststyle is their stuff feels good. The builds scream quality and it's obvious that while they ask more than their competitors they didn't cheap out. I want the CMA15 but the SO would kill me if she saw the cost. Which means I'm going to have to figure out a way to get it, not tell her, then pretend it's the 12 and nobody will know but me!
