Alien DAC- Worth it?

[dgbiker1]

I've been reading up on the Alien DAC and comparisons to Juli@ and X-Fi external cards, but I'm wondering if it's much better than the built-in sound card on a Macbook (I know it's pretty noisy) or Line-out on iPod? I'd eventually like to build something higher-end, but I'm too poor right now

Any other recommendations for <$100, preferably DIY but open to any options? I already have an amp so there's no need for a built-in amp.

[smegger]

i have an alien dac and compared to my firends laptop out put its in another planet, i use one all the time for so cheap i think its a great piece of kit!

[dgbiker1]

Originally Posted by Normality

Well for $85 + shipping the SUPER Pro DAC 707 from diykits seems absolutely a steal.

Yea, I've been looking at the USB version of that... too bad about that purple color, I'll have to build a new case for that
Have you heard one? The 707 looked nice but I haven't heard anything about it.

[dgbiker1]

Originally Posted by smegger

i have an alien dac and compared to my firends laptop out put its in another planet, i use one all the time for so cheap i think its a great piece of kit!

Have you compared it to the Line-out from an ipod? I figure that's probably much cleaner than a laptop HP out.

[smegger]

is better than i lod on my ipod i think, mainly because when listening with my er4 i can easily hear the whirring of the hard drive when listening to quiet bits of music.

[dgbiker1]

Originally Posted by smegger

is better than i lod on my ipod i think, mainly because when listening with my er4 i can easily hear the whirring of the hard drive when listening to quiet bits of music.

Sold!