Silverstone EB01 USB DAC

[jinp6301]

Ive tried the 203.2 and the 205.2 and and theyre both great for under $100 but I would rather get the emu 0404 if you can spend more

[mrarroyo]

When I had the Silverstone you could get it new for under $90 and at that price I thought it was pretty good. There is plenty of used gear that comes up and you should be able to get a reasonably good deal for well under the range of $200 to $300 you listed.

You first should answer if you want a non-oversampling dac or an oversampling one. They sound way different IMO.

[woof07]

Originally Posted by mrarroyo

When I had the Silverstone you could get it new for under $90 and at that price I thought it was pretty good. There is plenty of used gear that comes up and you should be able to get a reasonably good deal for well under the range of $200 to $300 you listed.

You first should answer if you want a non-oversampling dac or an oversampling one. They sound way different IMO.

I don't guess I was aware of a significant difference. I don't like things on the bright side, if that helps.

[jinp6301]

Then you probably wont like oversampling but try it anyways

Also check out the lite dac if you have a coaxial or optical out on your computer

[woof07]

Originally Posted by jinp6301

Then you probably wont like oversampling but try it anyways

Also check out the lite dac if you have a coaxial or optical out on your computer

Heh, I'll keep that in mind.

I just won that "new" Entech 205.2 off eBay, the one with US power supply (owner decided last-minute to include it instead of the European one). Seems to have coax digital inputs as well as SPDIF. I plan to use it with a PC (then on to a Canamp) for the immediate time being, with the though to move it to a Squeezebox as soon as I start FLAC-ing my collection.

Thanks for the great advice folks. One more if you don't mind. What's the best way to get SPDIF-out on a barebones office PC?

[Jigen]

Is there any difference in sound quality between the 0404 PCI sound card and the 0404 USB DAC? Will I still be able to hook my portable amp up to the PCI sound card? All I care about is the sound quality. I don't need the extra features of the 0404 DAC, and all of my listening is done at my computer, so I don't need the portability of an external device...

If the sound quality is just as good, @ $99, the PCI sound card would be a great deal for me.

[jinp6301]

Originally Posted by woof07

Heh, I'll keep that in mind.

I just won that "new" Entech 205.2 off eBay, the one with US power supply (owner decided last-minute to include it instead of the European one). Seems to have coax digital inputs as well as SPDIF. I plan to use it with a PC (then on to a Canamp) for the immediate time being, with the though to move it to a Squeezebox as soon as I start FLAC-ing my collection.

Thanks for the great advice folks. One more if you don't mind. What's the best way to get SPDIF-out on a barebones office PC?

probably either an m-audio transit or a hagusb

[batmanwcm]

I just bought the EB01 used for $50. Hopefully it will be a decent upgrade to my on-board audio.

[Jigen]

Instead of creating another thread, I'll ask here.

What kind of cable will I need to hook the 0202 USB or 0404 USB up to my Xin Supermini IV portable amp? It's a 1/8" connection on the amp. Would I just need a mini-to-mini cable? Or maybe a mini-to-RCA? I'm confused because I'm not sure where this cable will be plugged in at on the back of the E-MU itself.

I've narrowed it down to those two, at least. Either way I think it will be a nice upgrade from where I'm at now.

[jinp6301]

Mini to mini would be fine for the 0404 usb. I'm not sure about the 0202 though.