I have a Modi 3 and rather like it but wonder if there are much better ones in the $200 - $250 price range ?
Sorry I didn't specify I was looking for a plug and play DAC while I can solder some my eyesight is starting to fail me and something like that would be impossible for me at my age.
That DAC kicked my Modi 2 Uber to the curb, but I needed a big magnifier myself. I've also heard good things about some of the Topping devices.
I have kits for sale of my own DAC design. As your eyesight is failing I can build the kit for you for well within your budget : PhiDAC hex kits with pre-built filters
Measurably? Yes. (Topping D50s, for example. Or MOTU M4, which only has USB input but will double as a complete audio interface.) But audibly? If all you need is a line-level source, then quite probably not. If low-level output is required, there was an issue found when ASIO4All was being used with USB output, apparently 24 bit data would get truncated to 16 bit for whatever reason, so looking for a workaround may be advised in this case.