Amp/DACs
Manufacturer
FiiO E17
“ Have tried many headphone DAC/Amps in the £50 - 200 range and nothing comes close to the resolving, enjoyale nature of this bit of kit. Western manufacturers should take note. Quality, performance and a great price point can all exist together! :) Had mine for almost a year now and have no intention of letting it go... ” --Krisman
Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1
“I'll make this a short review and just make several points. - Excellent unit for beginners. You can use it so many ways, it's really an all-in-one. - Build quality is great, I haven't heard of any dead units. Some minor problems here and there but they are quickly resolved. - Superb support from the company. Fast and helpful emails. - Upgrade and resale potential. You can use this as a DAC...” --_Spanky_
FiiO E7 USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier
“Received new FiiO E7 today from Micca in Fairfax, Va (hi ex-neighbor - used to live in Arlington.) Did much reading on this forum and other reviews and truly appreciate the candid and (sometimes) brutal thoughts of recent purchasers. After just a few hours experience, can only share my first impressions - all of which are positive. Unpacked, reviewed instruction sheet, plugged in USB...” --TomT
Audioengine D1 Premium 24-Bit DAC
“ Great entry level DAC. Noticeable improvement over the onboard sound of my mac. Pairs great with my audioengine A2s. Powers my HD600 and HE400 headphones very well, seriously can not tell the difference between this and the Asgard 2 (which very much disappointed me for the price). Gorgeous looks and build quality. Great size. If I ever upgrade my DAC I will use this as a...” --dalb
CEntrance DACport USB Headphone Amp
“ I posted a review in the Computer Audio and Source forum in Feb 2010, but with the newer 2010 forum layout it was recommended that I should put a copy of the review in the gear review section. I updated this a little bit since it's being reposted 3 months later, but most of this is verbatim for what I wrote initially. The DACport definitely a nice source and amp worth...” --HeadphoneAddict
Cypher Labs Algorhythm Solo
“ I Have spent some days with the new Algorhythm Solo and felt I could honestly give my impressions. I could probably do it in two words but where is the fun in that? Starting off I would like to say that I have been on an incredible portable/digital journey since the ipod was released. A huge lover of music has always caused me some trouble with traveling as much as I...” --monotune
FiiO Andes (E07K) Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier - 96kHz/24-Bit
“ I really think the E07K is a great place to start with this hobby - and maybe even carry on for a while. The biggest plus is the amount of functionality packed into a very small package - combination amp/dac with a large number of user adjustments - eq adjustments (bass + treble), channel balance for those of us with slightly different ear sensitivity, 3 levels of gain adjustment....” --DrikTheTroll
WooAudio WA7 Fireflies
“ I have had this unit now for a week and am fully impressed. Right out of the box and without any burn-in it delivers breathtaking tone to instruments and vocals alike. Solid power and strong bass drive even with hard to drive headphones. Switching to some efficient T5p's still leaves the volume pot at 12:00 with a strong performance. Clearly attention to detail was...” --groovyd
Yulong U100
“ I wrote this review for my blog yesterday and wanted to post it here to shout about this really great device. Yulong makes three models of DAC. Their flagship model (D18 Sabre) seems stunning but its difficult to compare to other models that I've reviewed because it's not exactly the most elegant solution for desktop headphones. Not only is the Sabre DAC sporting beast a...” --Quadpatch
Lehmann Black Cube Linear
“ The headphone: Cardased Sennheiser HD650. The player: Oppo BDP-83 via the dedicated stereo outputs using AudioQuest Sidewinder RCA cables. This is basically a mid-fi set-up, the Lehmann Black Cube Linear USB being the most expensive component. I mostly listened to SACDs, but have played CDs, BDs, and DVD-Audio. Using the amp’s USB...” --Heidegger
