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Good, Sub $1000 DAC with optical in?

wanderfowl

wanderfowl

Resident Phonetician
Can anybody recommend a good, standalone DAC unit, ideally under $1000, which has either one or two optical-in ports?

I'd like to hook up my AppleTV through it to get better sound, but can't afford some of the crazy-high-end DACs out there (Perhaps in another life, MDA-1000 :tears:). If possible, I wouldn't mind hooking my CD player up too, hence, two optical ports. I've got a good integrated amp already, so standalone is probably my best bet (?)

EDIT: How about the Cambridge DACMagic?

Thanks!
 
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You can get a Benchmark DAC1 for that price. I have one and would recommend it.
 
Good question and I've been thinking of doing the same thing. But if I do this I'll ditch my CD player and stream everything from my PC. I'd also want one with at least one USB input.
 
I am using an Apogee Mini DAC with my MacBook (500GB HD) for music. Another good one is Apogee Duet if you have Firewire and a Mac.
 
RichPA said:
You can get a Benchmark DAC1 for that price. I have one and would recommend it.
Click to expand...

:thmbsp:
My first thought also RichPA - Tons of reviews and Highly Recommended!

Duffinator said:
Good question and I've been thinking of doing the same thing. But if I do this I'll ditch my CD player and stream everything from my PC. I'd also want one with at least one USB input.
Click to expand...

Hey Duffinator, they have you covered with the Benchmark DAC1 USB

They even have one that is a combined Stereo Pre-Amplifier / DAC / Headphone Amp.

Here is Benchmark Media Systems Link.

Regards,
TB
 
the Cambridge Audio 840c/840c II cd player has ports on the back to use it as a DAC.

A used one could be bad for that price, a new one not much more.

You could then sell your existing cdp if you were so inclined...
 
I didn't look too hard, but if I recall correctly, there were a couple new (at least to me) DACs from Cambridge and Musical Fidelity in the newest Audio Advisor. They were around $300-$400, afaik.
 
You are right whoaru99, I forgot the catalog came this week, so just did a quick look through and both are new.

Musical Fidelity V-DAC is listed at $299.00 - Coaxial, Toslink & USB inputs, unbalanced output.

Cambridge Audio DacMagic has an intro price of 399.99 - Dual Wolfson 24 bit DAC's, adjustable filters, Coaxial, Toslink & USB inputs, balanced and unbalanced outputs.

Both are nice and would be good with a PC setup!

I still like the Benchmark as it also adds balanced inputs, headphone amp and excellent performance specs. Don’t know if that should warrant double the price of the other two though!

Regards,
TB
 
I recently obtained a CI Audio VDA2 with the VAC-1 power supply. The VDA2 has 2 optical inputs and 2 outputs (or you can use the 2 sets of outputs as 1 set of balanced outputs). I purchased it to use with my Airport Express to stream from my Macbook, but am currently using it with my Yamaha 1030 CD player. I actually find that as old as it is, the DAC in the Yamaha sounds so good that I'm not sure I need an external DAC for it. However, there is a marked improvement over the built-in DAC in the AE (natch!).

I can't personally compare the VDA2 with the Benchmark, but it is less expensive (even with the VAC-1) and has garnered almost unanimously favorable reviews.

Just another option to consider.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Tower Boss said:

Musical Fidelity V-DAC is listed at $299.00 - Coaxial, Toslink & USB inputs, unbalanced output.

Cambridge Audio DacMagic has an intro price of 399.99 - Dual Wolfson 24 bit DAC's, adjustable filters, Coaxial, Toslink & USB inputs, balanced and unbalanced outputs.
Click to expand...
I was reading a piece on a different forum where those two DACs are also mentioned. The article refers to the November What HIFI audio magazine review that also included the Beresford TC-7510 in the test. It turns out that the Beresford had more selectable inputs (4), was the cheapest, and got an equal 5 star rating as the Cambridge. The Musical Fidelity came last in the test.
If USB input and Balanced output are not a priority, then you have an even greater range of choices as far as purchase price is concerned.
 
I can't speak to any of the others since I've not tried them, but I did try the Benchmark for just short of a month and then returned it.

Not that it wasn't a nice item or had problems, I just didn't perceive $1000 worth of improvement. YMMV.
 
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