Some say that the d5 is actually design and made by smsl, or at least has some relation with the company. Looking inside the two product I actually find some similar design (such as the amp part). So assuming this, I think this two will likely measure similarly, maybe the d5 will be a little better due to better power supply. Also the d5 has lls input and xlr4 output but in my opinion form factor and weight is an absolute advantage of the m500. It easily fits my carry on bag and I may even bring it with me on a trip. I think both device support USB quite well on windows10 (there are some problems with Linux mentioned in this thread, but I am not a Linux user so I cannot test it). I don't know if Amir will post the m500 measurement in a few days, so I think it maybe wiser to wait for the test result.
By the way, the m500 actually sells even cheaper in China, if transfer to EUR at 8:1 rate that's no more than 300EUR, while the d5 doesn't sell in China at all, which means buying the m500 is my obvious choice...
Thanks for the response, I'll be interested to hear what Amir thinks of the balanced output, that's vital for me. The issues people are reporting with low volume also puts me off.
Also seems to be good prices for both on hifi express:
https://hifi-express.com/products/the-m500-pre-sale
https://hifi-express.com/products/sabaj-d5-audio-dac-ess9038pro-heaphone-amplifier
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