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DACs: Cheap vs Expensive

Bill Murray said:
I guess I will give it a try. Lots for me to think about. Also..... (in a future post) I am agonizing over what new high grade cables (if any) I should get. Too much hype out there right now. Monoprice.... know anything about it ??
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There is likely an optical cable in the WiiM box ..

Interconnects can be a contentious subject, but a good 20$-$30 interconnect can make a surprising difference ..
Mogami, and Canare are professional studio cabling ( World's Best Cable @ Amazon ) or Blue Jeans Cable can be good ..
Seems reasonable to use professional audio cable as a minimum and the cost reflects the product's construction and effectiveness.
 
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Akustic said:
Ditto ..

And I'd guess that either one will sound significantly different from the DAC in his JVC ..
Which is better ?? ... only @Bill Murray can decide ..
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Have you heard the unit you are recommending? And the the one you are recommemding against?

What streamer do you use?
 
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spark1 said:
Have you heard the unit you are recommending? And the the one you are recommemding against?
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I'm recommending a connectivity option, and a pricepoint, ..not one particular DAC over another ... they're all different ..

I've directly compared the MODI and the Bluesound Node .. each one connected to different channels channels of the preamps ..
Haven't listened to the DAC in the WiiM .. no need .. but it has a decent reputation .. that's sufficient.

Only recommendation that I have for DAC's is listen to 2 or 3 of them before you purchase one ..
Kind of like telling someone that only a Shure v-15 III cartridge will do .. what about Stanton's ?? Grado's ?? etc.. etc...
 
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Akustic said:
I'm recommending a connectivity option, and a pricepoint, ..not one particular DAC over another ... they're all different ..

I've directly compared the MODI and the Bluesound Node .. each one connected to different channels channels of the preamps ..
Haven't listened to the DAC in the WiiM .. no need .. but it has a decent reputation .. that's sufficient.

Only recommendation that I have for DAC's is listen to 2 or 3 of them before you purchase one ..
Kind of like telling someone that only a Shure v-15 III cartridge will do .. what about Stanton's ?? Grado's ?? etc.. etc...
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Very helpful.

Done here.
 
Thanks to all for your input. I am looking for an inexpensive DAC. I have no need whatsoever for any kind of streamer. Sorry if I confused the situation. I suppose I will pick out a DAC from Amazon, buy it, try it, and keep it if I am impressed, or return it if I am not. I did not realize I could drive something around the block and send it back. I might try the same approach for my cable quandary. Back in the day if I wanted a new speaker I would go to the Allied showroom and listen to my candidates and select. Too bad it's not that simple anymore.
 
Bill Murray said:
Thanks to all for your input. I am looking for an inexpensive DAC. I have no need whatsoever for any kind of streamer. Sorry if I confused the situation. I suppose I will pick out a DAC from Amazon, buy it, try it, and keep it if I am impressed, or return it if I am not. I did not realize I could drive something around the block and send it back. I might try the same approach for my cable quandary. Back in the day if I wanted a new speaker I would go to the Allied showroom and listen to my candidates and select. Too bad it's not that simple anymore.
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It still is ... use Amazon ..
 
Bill Ferris said:
I concur.
Amazon`s generous 30 day return policy has worked well for me over the past 10 yrs. with the various select audio purchases that I`ve made through them, namely my currently in use, and likely endgame made in Belgium Pro-Ject brand model Pre Box S2 Digital DAC.
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I have a brain storm. Tell me if it is feasable. I am in a quandary about several cable brands. Suppose I bought one of each, tested them all, kept some, rejected others. Sent rejects back for a refund, or more likely as trades for more of the accepted brands. I think I would only have to do it once. Brands like Monoprice, Siesmic, Goalfish, Riksoin, Cable Mountain, Yeung Kee. These are all at Amazon in the $5 to $10 per cable range. Am I thinking too cheap? Can't see spending $20-$50 per cable. Remember, I used to be able to get a Hershey bar for a dime, not the $1.30 they are now.
 
Bill Murray said:
I have a brain storm. Tell me if it is feasable. I am in a quandary about several cable brands. Suppose I bought one of each, tested them all, kept some, rejected others. Sent rejects back for a refund, or more likely as trades for more of the accepted brands. I think I would only have to do it once. Brands like Monoprice, Siesmic, Goalfish, Riksoin, Cable Mountain, Yeung Kee. These are all at Amazon in the $5 to $10 per cable range. Am I thinking too cheap? Can't see spending $20-$50 per cable. Remember, I used to be able to get a Hershey bar for a dime, not the $1.30 they are now.
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I've done it many times...

Buy 2 or 3 at once and directly compare them ...
Best way to hear the difference is to plug one in to the right channel and a different one in to the left channel .. walk back and forth while listening ..
Then swap them and see if the difference that you're hearing moved ..
 
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Akustic said:
I've done it many times...

Buy 2 or 3 at once and directly compare them ...
Best way to hear the difference is to plug one in to the right channel and a different on in to the left channel .. walk back and forth while listening ..
Then swap them and see if the difference that you're hearing moved ..
Click to expand...
Sounds like a plan. People like you are what makes AK useful and fun.
 
Bill Murray said:
I have a brain storm. Tell me if it is feasable. I am in a quandary about several cable brands. Suppose I bought one of each, tested them all, kept some, rejected others. Sent rejects back for a refund, or more likely as trades for more of the accepted brands. I think I would only have to do it once. Brands like Monoprice, Siesmic, Goalfish, Riksoin, Cable Mountain, Yeung Kee. These are all at Amazon in the $5 to $10 per cable range. Am I thinking too cheap? Can't see spending $20-$50 per cable. Remember, I used to be able to get a Hershey bar for a dime, not the $1.30 they are now.
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I doubt that I would be much help with that suggestion, being ~ 95 % of my analog audio and all of my 3 type of video cables are Monster Cable brand (to the chagrin/disgust of a lot of A/K members) with my main reference system using DH Labs balanced cables for the mid/high drivers in my tri-amplified Mc. XRT-30 line array speaker system.

And also the speaker level Silver something model from DH Labs from the (4) Mc. MC-275LE tube amps mono configured output driving those line array mid/high frequency drivers.

Some of my 4 ft. S/PDIF 75 ohm digital cables I paid Markertek.com to construct for me using Canaire yellow 75 ohm cable, and HQ connectors that I can`t remember the brand from over 12 yrs. ago, but it had a high reputation, all out of my laziness, and the choice of yellow was to be able to easily track down the digital based cables in the major rats nest/snake farm behind the black cable saturated A/V rack`s environment, when I finally got into S/PDIF coax digital audio through an external DAC, and a 4x1 S/PDIF switching unit to ultimately handle the all new for me external DAC digital music configurations 4 S/PDIF coax digital music selectable sources feeding the DAC.
If you wish to have a mind warping stroke/mental melt down, stop on by here and you can stand and stare at the back of this A/V rack wiring nightmare that has no written wiring schematic/diagram outside of my 2 remaining operational braincells !
 
Bill Murray said:
Thanks to all for your input. I am looking for an inexpensive DAC. I have no need whatsoever for any kind of streamer. Sorry if I confused the situation. I suppose I will pick out a DAC from Amazon, buy it, try it, and keep it if I am impressed, or return it if I am not. I did not realize I could drive something around the block and send it back. I might try the same approach for my cable quandary. Back in the day if I wanted a new speaker I would go to the Allied showroom and listen to my candidates and select. Too bad it's not that simple anymore.
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In my experience, about $100 or so is the sweet spot for DAC's ..
Below that they obviously lack detail and extension ..
There may be, and likely is, a gem out there for less $$ but it's going to be a hunt to find it ..

FWIW .. and YMMV ..
 
spark1 said:
No digital output from that dock. So, it can't be used with an external DAC.

Will an external DAC improve the sound quality of your CD player? Probably. Buy one and find out. Return it if you don't like it.

A streamer can access all of the music that's on your computer. But if 96 CDs work better for you, great.

BTW, the music you ripped into iTunes is on your computer and can be accessed by any media player. You don't have to use iTunes to use the music.
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BTW, just created a new post, DAC Disappointment, based on my Schiit Modi+, which I just bought and tested.
 
Gigantic said:
It’s also worth noting that iTunes, now known as Apple Music, will effectively turn your computer into a streamer, too. You can connect to a Dac via usb and control the software from a phone, iPad or even Apple Watch n
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See my post DAC Disappointment for my latest experience.
 
Retro_Pete said:
I think it's a stretch to call the Wiim Pro Plus limited when it is in fact one of the best performing DAC implementations there is regardless of what else it can do.
It is as neutral as can be, has 0.0002 % THD+N and DR of 114-117 dB depending on toslink in or streaming -I can't imagine it limiting any system.

Source
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See my post DAC Disappointment for my latest experience.
 
Akustic said:
You join a bunch of us dinosaur's who've been down a similar path ...

An Ipod is just a small computer and so is a cell phone ..
Itunes is accessible through a computer .. (well it used to be) ..
I quit using the IPOD because I didn't like Apple's proprietary control of everything and their prices are mostly absurd..

ITUNES is just one of the many streaming services that serve as a source for music .. It is the cloud, you are just downloading and storing music locally..(on your device)

Try the Wiim first .. It's a good DAC, and it has built in simple computer programing that makes it possible to access services that aren't Apple only.
The music download services are mostly pretty easy to use once you start messing with them. You figured out Napster.
Internet radio (one kind of streaming) is way, way better than over the air radio .. It learns your tastes and plays music that you will probably like .. Try Pandora.
The WiiM Pro is a far, far more versatile device than a regular DAC .. It's worth every penny, and more, of it's price over the Modi .. It can be found for $150..

Down the road it's pretty straightforward to connect a computer in one room to a stereo in another room wirelessly .. esp. with the WiiM ..
Are you using an Apple phone ??
Click to expand...
See my post DAC Disappointment for my latest experience.
 
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