DAC recomendation

gentlejax

Super Member
for home system to be used with dvd player and or Iphone pandora. no computer setup. I dont want a tiny box. it can be as big as needed. $200 or less.
 
Schiit modi multibit.
Slightly over your budget (though I'm pretty sure free shipping)
Ok lying on both fronts
More than 200
Not free shipping.
Still IMO, best value in the market at that price point.
Sorry about the misinformation :dunno:
 
Last edited:
for home system to be used with dvd player and or Iphone pandora. no computer setup. I dont want a tiny box. it can be as big as needed. $200 or less.

So you want the tiny DAC chip in a large box???

Buy a Network Receiver. They can be very large and still have a small DAC inside.

Edit:

Are you planning on streaming pandora from the phone by WiFi?
If you do you need a WiFi or Airplay receiver as well.

Eric
 
Last edited:
So you want the tiny DAC chip in a large box???

Buy a Network Receiver. They can be very large and still have a small DAC inside.

Edit:

Are you planning on streaming pandora from the phone by WiFi?
If you do you need a WiFi or Airplay receiver as well.

Eric


im not saying I want a big box for no reason, I am saying that its going on a rack and can be bigger than the tiny boxes I have seen because I have all the room I need. I have seen some older rack type DACs ...


Cant the DAC be after the preamp and before the main amp? if so then why do I need a airplay receiver ?
 
How do you plan to connect the Iphone to the DAC?

Wireless or Wired?

If Wireless, Airplay is the way to go for a Iphone.

Iphone > Airplay receiver > Dac > whatever you want next.

Wired would be Iphone > DAC > whatever you want next.

Eric
 
Cant the DAC be after the preamp and before the main amp? if so then why do I need a airplay receiver ?

The purpose of the DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. It takes the 1's and 0's that make up digital music and turns them into an analog signal that can be amplified.
Your preamp would already be putting out an analog signal. So there would be nothing for the DAC to do at that point.

DAC's use a single digital RCA style (SPDIF) connection, and/or optical connection (Toslink) and/or USB input to get the digital (1's and 0's) signal into them.
The output on the DAC will be dual RCA connectors that output a low power analog audio signal.

To confuse things some DAC's have preamps built in and some preamps have DACs built in. The same way your DVD player likely has a DAC built in to allow it to output an analog signal as well as digital.

A DAC can't do anything to change the sound once it is analog. The only thing adding a DAC to a system can do is bypass a built in DAC and possibly do a better job of changing the 1's and 0's to an analog audio signal.
 
Last edited:
The purpose of the DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. It takes the 1's and 0's that make up digital music and turns them into an analog signal that can be amplified.
Your preamp would already be putting out an analog signal. So there would be nothing for the DAC to do at that point.

DAC's use a single digital RCA style (SPDIF) connection, and/or optical connection (Toslink) and/or USB input to get the digital (1's and 0's) signal into them.
The output on the DAC will be dual RCA connectors that output a low power analog audio signal.

To confuse things some DAC's have preamps built in and some preamps have DACs built in. The same way your DVD player likely has a DAC built in to allow it to output an analog signal as well as digital.

A DAC can't do anything to change the sound once it is analog. The only thing adding a DAC to a system can do is bypass a built in DAC and possibly do a better job of changing the 1's and 0's to an analog audio signal.

makes complete sense. I didnt know if I needed one or not. friend keeps telling me how great they are and he knows what I run so I didnt know how it was supposed to work. the cd player has lots of outputs but I am already running analog to the preamp.

I think I would rather spend the money on a better preamp anyhow..lol...
 
The purpose of the DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. It takes the 1's and 0's that make up digital music and turns them into an analog signal that can be amplified.
Your preamp would already be putting out an analog signal. So there would be nothing for the DAC to do at that point.

DAC's use a single digital RCA style (SPDIF) connection, and/or optical connection (Toslink) and/or USB input to get the digital (1's and 0's) signal into them.
The output on the DAC will be dual RCA connectors that output a low power analog audio signal.

To confuse things some DAC's have preamps built in and some preamps have DACs built in. The same way your DVD player likely has a DAC built in to allow it to output an analog signal as well as digital.

A DAC can't do anything to change the sound once it is analog. The only thing adding a DAC to a system can do is bypass a built in DAC and possibly do a better job of changing the 1's and 0's to an analog audio signal.
Oh boy, I wish I understood that before I started spending money on a DAC, I bought a Kenwood Basic C1 preamp and a DACmagic 100 and was going to use them with my Nikko Alpha II or new Yamaha MX600U that I bought used!

Thank you for the explanation though, it help me understand the bypass thing...I wonder if all preamps have DACs built in then at least the one's from the 80's and 90's thinking they maybe too old?
 
lol yeah mine does too...oh and I dont need the DAC now



"In Classé processors, digital signals are handled with particular care, maintaining the accuracy of our clock as well as the integrity of the data. Motorola® 32-bit processors ensure accurate calculations and contribute to our high resolution results. Eight differential 24-bit multi-bit delta-sigma DACs provide conversion from digital to analog, ensuring high resolution and excellent low level linearity. And consistent with all Classé components, local power supply regulation and filtering are used extensively to optimize circuit performance. The result: sonic precision that unveils the subtle details and nuances that set Classé processors apart. "
 
Back
Top Bottom