Looking for DAC and headphone advice

[Vostro]

Hello. It's been a long time since I've thought about upgrading my kit...

I'm based in the UK, and I'm looking for a new source(DAC) - I generally use the PC for music, so USB would be good. But I'm able to output optical and coax, so it isn't essential.

I'm also tempted to upgrade my headphones. Much of my listening is through my studio-monitor loudspeakers, but I do love listening to my HD480-II cans as well.

Total budget - £200 shipped to the UK. Somewhat flexible, but a hard limit of £250(though I'd probably go to £300 if the DAC was absolutely marvellous ).

Cans - second priority. I still love the sound of the 480s, but they're getting on a bit. The cable is starting to break down, the foams have seen better days. I'd rather leave them be for the time being if the additional funds will make a big difference to the purchase of a source.

I'm after advice on the following, or anything the poster would recommend having actually had experience with. Please don't just start throwing names into the pot unless you've had a good amount of experience with the actual items...

1. Zero DAC
2. Zhaolou - or however you spell it!
3. Yulong DAH1 mark
4. Behringer SRC2496
5. Beresford TC-7510 6/3

Anything else worth considering? There was lots of talk about non-OS the last time I was spending money. Is it worth pursuing, or have the modern delta-sigma DACs won the battle?

Generally listen to music. Prefer accuracy to 'musicality', but too little musicality makes listening hard work at times . I guess a 70:30 split in favour of accuracy would be ideal. Sometimes watch films through the PC as well, so being able to go above 44.1khz would be good, but the sound of music is more important.

Cheers for any help .

[Vostro]

Thanks. Coming on here was a big help.

[Redo]

*double post*

[Redo]

I would say go for a Yulong DAH1. It isn't overly well known, but it sounds like it would fit your needs EXACTLY (price & functionality). I see Pacific Valve has one going for $355, but I'm not sure how much it'd cost to get shipped to the UK (or if Pacific Valve ships to the UK). The only other thing is I'm not sure if it accepts 24/96 via USB, or if it caps USB to 16/44.1/48 like most USB implementations.

I don't know much about HD480's or how well the scale with a DAC/AMP, but if you end up with the Yulong DAH1, you would have lots of headphone options down the road. You could grab a used pair of HD580's, some AKG501's, or pretty much any of the well known headphones that need an amp to properly drive.


From what I'm seeing, the DAH1 looks like a stellar unit that would serve you perfectly.

[1UP]

Originally Posted by Vostro

Thanks. Coming on here was a big help.

As much help as expecting immediate replies to a question that's been asked innumerable times, and then showing sarcasm for not getting it, for answers that can easily be obtained by searching.

Get a soundcard.

[Vostro]

Originally Posted by 1UP

As much help as expecting immediate replies to a question that's been asked innumerable times, and then showing sarcasm for not getting it, for answers that can easily be obtained by searching.

Get a soundcard.

A week is so immediate, isn't it... searching for solid answers is all but impossible. The DACs are mentioned numerous times, often by people who've not sampled the products they are pushing to the original poster. And even then, it's mostly speculation from guys pushing for the current 'flavour-of-the-month' opamps. I'm not looking for speculation, or hear-say. I'm after advice on which of the DACs I mentioned, or anything I'm not aware of, and how they fare in the real world - whether any in particular offer the balance of resolution and accuracy in sound, with some musicality thrown in as well.

Why do you suggest a soundcard(without even suggesting a particular card?) I've had soundcards. The rest of my gear deserves a better source, to be honest. I've a naim CD player sitting here, and I'd like something which offers a similar resolution but allows me the flexibility of a hard drive-based solution.

Redo - thanks for your input. I'd pretty much settled on the Yulong device. It sounds like a good piece of kit - but I tried the Behringer unit for a couple of days, and that's also very good. Quite a few mods are mentioned on the internet, and I'm starting to lean towards buying one and modding it.

The 480s are very, very good. They were the headphones of choice for BBC sound engineers for a number of years. I've not been able to do a long-term comparison, but to my ears they are certainly a good match for the HD600 when it comes to accurate reproduction. Better... worse... a very comparable performance, lacking the bass definition of the 600, but sparkling with voices and string instruments.

[1UP]

Originally Posted by Vostro

Why do you suggest a soundcard(without even suggesting a particular card?) I've had soundcards. The rest of my gear deserves a better source, to be honest. I've a naim CD player sitting here, and I'd like something which offers a similar resolution but allows me the flexibility of a hard drive-based solution.

GL. I don't think you'll get it for £200, tbh.

On the other hand, the Behringer is very similar to my Superdac, which modded sounds really good. Unmodded it's average. Changing the coupling caps has the biggest effect on improving clarity and musicality. Followed by switching the S/PDIF connector for BNC. The AKM DAC that both units use has qualities similar to Naim gear.