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Help with DAC's

I'm less on the SMSL units as I am turned on to the Topping units. They're sold on ebay and also by Parts Express. Their little dac/headphone amp is more like a preamp then anything.

I have the TP21 amplifier and think it sounds great. The dac/headphone amp model is the TP-D2. You can search for it on Ebay. It has USB, optical, coaxial and RCA inputs, with an RCA output.
 
Jon. said:
Two caveats with this one:

2. It's USB *powered*. Anything that runs on such little power can't possibly have a decent linestage.​
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Not true in this case, I can assure you. The analog output stage on the MSII is very, very-good/well-designed for a $150 DAC, plus there's some kind of circuitry that continuously-regenerates power through the unit (Whatever the case, power hasn't been an issue). Even with my recent speaker-upgrade, I'm still amazed at how good the MSII performs. They didn't miss a beat with this one. It's just aimed specifically at the usb-only crowd and optimized for that purpose. For someone who needs a usb-compatible DAC, I think this is the best one out there for $200 or less.
 
I'm leaning towards a Maverick Audio D1 for my living room/second system. It's very versitile being a DAC, headphone amp, and preamp all in one. With all the upgrades it's only around $250 and starts at $199. I know that's over your budget but this is a piece you can grow with.

cubdog
 
cubdog said:
I'm leaning towards a Maverick Audio D1 for my living room/second system. It's very versitile being a DAC, headphone amp, and preamp all in one. With all the upgrades it's only around $250 and starts at $199. I know that's over your budget but this is a piece you can grow with.

cubdog
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Ugh. One of those drive my AKG's pretty well and be a decent preamp.
 
cubdog said:
I'm leaning towards a Maverick Audio D1 for my living room/second system. It's very versitile being a DAC, headphone amp, and preamp all in one. With all the upgrades it's only around $250 and starts at $199. I know that's over your budget but this is a piece you can grow with.

cubdog
Click to expand...

A while back, I read a pro review online for the CEntrance Dacport LX, the DAC-only version of the original Dacport dac/headphone-amp combo model, and the reviewer was saying that the dac-only Dacport LX model put out noticeably-better sound than the combo-model Dacport with the headphone-amp. This got me wondering if simplicity wasn't the better route, going with a standalone DAC vs a DAC/headphone-amp combo. This may just be a fluke thing with the Dacport models, but it's still got me thinking about it. Any thoughts on that? I mean, with most companies, the separates were always higher on the proverbial totem pole than the receivers, right? So, could this be the way to go with DAC's and headphone-amps?
 
delfam said:
http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC-...e=UTF8&qid=1348505421&sr=8-3&keywords=nuForce

think I'm going to go with this one. Good price and good reviews and has all the inputs. So am i right that I can use this for my pc(since it has a usb) and I can use it with my dvd(cd) player?
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All the inputs? What about Toslink?

You can use it with your DVD/CD player only if your DVD/CD player has coaxial digital out. Oh, and it's got to be plugged in to USB for power anyway, so keep that in mind too.

Do tell, OP, which DVD player do you have?
 
Jon. said:
All the inputs? What about Toslink?

You can use it with your DVD/CD player only if your DVD/CD player has coaxial digital out. Oh, and it's got to be plugged in to USB for power anyway, so keep that in mind too.

Do tell, OP, which DVD player do you have?
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I just wanted the cheapest thing they had since I just wanted to play cd's.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+DVD+Player/4790684.p?id=1218532316628&skuId=4790684

so it has to be plugged into a usb for power? Are all Dac's like that?
 
delfam said:
I just wanted the cheapest thing they had since I just wanted to play cd's.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+DVD+Player/4790684.p?id=1218532316628&skuId=4790684

so it has to be plugged into a usb for power? Are all Dac's like that?
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Most standalone DACs plug into the wall for power. You may be able to run the uDAC from a USB wall-wart, but don't count on it.

OP, your DVD player does indeed have coaxial digital out, so it should work with the uDAC.

It's not exactly my cup of tea, but the *original* uDAC was very well reviewed at Head-Fi (YMMV with the uDAC 2). Personally, I'd wait until I could afford something a bit higher up the food chain, but at that price I'd say the uDAC is probably your best bet.
 
Jon. said:
Most standalone DACs plug into the wall for power. You may be able to run the uDAC from a USB wall-wart, but don't count on it.

OP, your DVD player does indeed have coaxial digital out, so it should work with the uDAC.

It's not exactly my cup of tea, but the *original* uDAC was very well reviewed at Head-Fi (YMMV with the uDAC 2). Personally, I'd wait until I could afford something a bit higher up the food chain, but at that price I'd say the uDAC is probably your best bet.
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so could I use like a outlet charger for like a phone or ipod that has a usb on it and run a cord from that to the dac? something like this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/eForCit...kuId=4906349&st=iphone wall charger&cp=1&lp=9
 
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Many fellow AK'ers might disagree, but you might try looking into a Yaqin tube CD player. They have one, the YAQIN SD-30A, which lists for around 400 bucks. I realize that this is a little over your price limit, but well worth looking at anyway. It has a built-in tube buffered DAC. I have the SD32A and absolutely love it. :tresbon:
 
Oh bloody hell. I just checked NuForce's website, and the coax jack on the uDAC 2 is actually for coax *output,* not input. Which makes no sense at all--why the hell would a DAC have digital out? To connect to another DAC? WTF.

Sorry about that, OP, but it looks like it won't play ball with your DVD player after all.
 
Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1.

It has Coax, Optical, USB and two analog inputs. It functions as a volume control and a headphone amplifier. So it can actually serve as a preamp. The price is $199.
 
Headfonia has a lot of good reviews for budget DACs. You might want to check out their site to get a general feel of the DACs in the pricerange and their sound signatures. Honestly at this price range don't get a combo unit unless you need it. Sure it's nice to have another pre-amp in your DAC, but keep in mind instead of getting a say $150 DAC, it will be a $100 DAC and $50 pre-amp/headphone amp.

I've heard good things about the music streamer II but it is USB only. Personally I prefer things as simple as possible so that I know that I didn't spend money on inputs/features I won't use.
 
there is a Grant Fidelity Tube Dac-09 on barter town for $150 and it seems like it has all the inputs, that a good option?
 
Gang-Twanger said:
A while back, I read a pro review online for the CEntrance Dacport LX, the DAC-only version of the original Dacport dac/headphone-amp combo model, and the reviewer was saying that the dac-only Dacport LX model put out noticeably-better sound than the combo-model Dacport with the headphone-amp. This got me wondering if simplicity wasn't the better route, going with a standalone DAC vs a DAC/headphone-amp combo. This may just be a fluke thing with the Dacport models, but it's still got me thinking about it. Any thoughts on that? I mean, with most companies, the separates were always higher on the proverbial totem pole than the receivers, right? So, could this be the way to go with DAC's and headphone-amps?
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I agree simple is usually best. But I like these units that combine a preamp with a dac. My Bel Canto is one for example and it is exceptional. It also has a headphone jack. The Maverick I'm considering is for a secondary system that I don't want to invest alot of money into. I'm currently running a Yaqin tube pre but it doesn't have a headphone jack. In my case then the Maverick meets all my need in one little box. If they wern't so expensive I'd just buy another Bel Canto. My only concern with the Mavericks is quality control. I've read that there have been some issues.

cubdog
 
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