I have this unit and it is fantastic for the money. I like that it has adjustable bass/treble. It also has 7 eq pre-setting if you want to go that route. A plus for me is the subwoofer output. I have had a few little digital amps. My list consisted of the dayton dta-120, dayton dta3116v2, smsl - sa60 and the teac ai301. Sound wise the smsl products sound very similar with a full lush sound. The q5 pro is my favorite due to the amount of inputs and the versatility. My top choice for sound would be the tpa 3116 chip as it has a bigger soundstage and a little bit more detail....though q 5 is very close. The q 5 is more powerful and has more options on configuration. The biggest let down on my list was the teac, it was very analytical and dry, no depth or warmth.