DAC under $200

MotherSauce1

Active Member
Considering adding a DAC to my system; would like to spend under $200. Any favorites out there? I'd like to keep the footprint small either hidden away or simple like the pro-ject box series.
Looking forward to hearing what you all like!

PS any DAV/Tuner combos come to mind?
 
Suggest you read into the forum a bit before posing such a general question. Plenty of info there from any number of perspectives. Might even give you some ideas on expanding your system to include streaming, hi-res, and servers before you lock in with a gizmo that doesn't properly support such expansion. Good luck.
 
Topping seems to be the DAC du joir for under $200. Plenty of discussion here.

SMSL makes some good budget DACs, too. I'm using a Sanskrit 6 at the moment and am happy with it.
 
Saw that SMSL M8, nice looking unit. I am really liking the SMSL M7 - it's a heavy little brick with internal power supply, no wall wart, and if I pick up another DAC along the way later it will make for a good desktop headphone amp.
 
Here are the ones I have been researching...

Schiit
JDS Labs
Topping
SMSL
Audioquest
HRT
HiFiMe
Stoner Acoustics
Maverick

The problem is DAC technology changes every year and then your upgrading again. It may be why something like a Schitt bifrost makes sense, albeit at a higher price point.

I may just pick up a Mojo and be done with it.
 
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I'm not a digital-type guy, but I do own a JDS Labs OL-DAC.
I figure if I have to add an extra box to a system it needs to be low-noise, no-nonsense, do it's damn job, and not color the sound

Imo, the OL-DAC succeeds on all accounts. It's 3x4", so easy to hide. No gain knob.
And, I have to say, the change from using the built-in DAC in a Mac laptop wasn't even close to being subtle.
Increased soundstage, much better definition.

Maybe not the best choice for someone deep into digital territory, but it suits me fine.
 
thanks everyone. Joe, what are the numbers displayed on the Topping D10?

The OL-DAC, Topping D10 are exactly the kind of box I'm looking for. Similar to the Pro-ject box line which I am fond of.
 
thanks everyone. Joe, what are the numbers displayed on the Topping D10?

The OL-DAC, Topping D10 are exactly the kind of box I'm looking for. Similar to the Pro-ject box line which I am fond of.

Here's a link from Audio Science Review. The author makes no comments about the sound. However he does some fairly comprehensive testing and posts the results. It displays the sampling rate of the file being played. For dsd/dsf files it includes that information. The D10 in addition to going to 24/382 does dsd/dsf files to 512. The display automatically lights with sampling rate information (default is 44.1) as soon as a connection is made. It dims the display roughly a minute after a file starts playing. Seeing as how it's completely powered via the USB connection dimming the display after a reasonable delay makes sense to me. In my case it's connected to a laptop.

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...iew-and-measurements-of-topping-d10-dac.2470/
 
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Thanks Joe! I've always appreciated your replies and post! The review was helpful and its nice to see the test results. At least by their comparisons the topping does pretty well! It mentions in the review that is is a "USB only DAC" any idea what that means? I plan to use the toslink connection with a chromcast audio most of the time--so I suppose I better figure that comment out.
 
Ha well that explains it. I mistook the output i saw in the photo for an input. Does using adapters change its functional/performance you think?
 
Please ignore my last post. I got off my lazy duff and looked. There are inputs for USB, optical and coax (SPDIF) on the D10. The fixed output from mine is connected to a Little Dot MKII headphone amp.

Please note:
AFAIK the maximum sample rate supported by a Toslink connection is 96KHz. I have no idea how high a Chromecast goes.
 
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your first post was correct. Those are outputs. Is there a benefit to using an adapter to the D10 rather than just getting a D30?
topping-d10-usb-dac-32bit384khz-dsd-256-xmos-u208-es9018k2m_2_.jpg
 
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