Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › dac1 or mini-dac??
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

dac1 or mini-dac?? - Page 3

post #31 of 44
12/26/05 at 2:09am
The Apogee lacks univeral RCA-out, which is still quite useful and I thought pretty standard on most DACs.

Please remember that I'm in Canada, but if you can point me in the direction of a USB-quipped Mini-DAC for around the same price as the DAC1, I'd be very interested. In this case, I wouldn't need the Indigo when using my PowerBook, which is what I ultimately want to move towards as my main music player, but currently, its onboard DAC is pure garbage

Here's the RME: http://www.rme-audio.com/english/adi/adi2.htm

I was quoted a retail price of around $900 CAD, so its US price might be in the $700-800 range, which is spectacular for a professional AD/ DA converter. Unfortunately, my local dealer is out of stock for a long time, so I have no way of testing it.
Reply
post #32 of 44
12/26/05 at 9:26am
Try contacting www.sonicsense.com
Reply
post #33 of 44
12/26/05 at 10:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by applebook
My bad, I didn't realize that Apogee offered a non-USB version for pretty much the same price as the DAC1 and Lavry. With the USB, then I would consider the $1200 tage to be overpriced.
Considering you haven't heard it, I really don't think your in a position to mark it as overpriced.

Your matching price tags instead of listening (and the differential isn't that disparate). If you listened to it and don't like the sound signature, that's a different story. There are many people here who prefer the Apogee's DAC to the DAC1 and vice-a-versa, it depends on the setup and style of conversion you like. Sorry for being a little irate but you struck a nerve (and/or pet peeve), i.e., when people judge a piece of gear before actually listening to it.

The Apogee offers not only superior DAC capabilities but is a truely balanced device (it doesn't do what a lot of cheaper XLR outputs due in doubleing the hot pin, each XLR output drives a separate + and - side of the signal). I also believe that the Apogee reclocks the power in order to clean it internally (that's why the wallwart don't really matter). Finally, the Apogee fully supports kernel streaming and ASIO making it pretty much one of the best ways to play music off a computer.

The biggest disadvantages of the Apogee IMO are lack of separate RCA outputs (though XLR is better anyway), cheapish buttons (I agree, the looks could be improved), and lack of battery option (truely portable).
Reply
post #34 of 44
12/26/05 at 6:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sum
From a sound quality standpoint they are both incredible. The Apogee is a little bit warmer which I think matches the razor sharp sound of most studio monitors nicely. The Benchmark is a little bit more clinical, but can be warmed up a little with extensive power conditioning.

The Apogee is a little warmer and in my opinion a little more versatile due to it's connection capabilities and DC input. The Benchmark is a brutally accurate piece of equipment. So in the end it's really what you want out of the equipment. I can tell you that they both produce similar amounts of detail, sound stage, etc. It's really just a matter of different sound signatures.
It's reading similar comparisons that has me want to give the Apogee a try after owning the Benchmark for a year. I love (or is that respect?) the DAC1, but it is through ATC studio monitors I listen and although I wouldn't characterize them specifically as "razor sharp", they're honest, high resolution and lightning fast and in concert with the DAC1 a little too much of a good thing. It's not a big, big deal. It took me a year to arrive at that opinion. I have put a new interconnect in place which has a little less emphasis on leading edges, but haven't assessed it properly yet and it might have the DAC1 stay longer.

I haven't played with many power cords or transports but what I have used haven't made much difference, just as advertised. That for me is something I admire. Is the Apogee as jitter immune as the DAC1? If so I'd probably go for it (RCA's would be convenient).
Reply
post #35 of 44
12/26/05 at 6:14pm
The DAC1 must be a magic bullet for a too warm or sluggish system.
Reply
post #36 of 44
12/26/05 at 7:16pm
Eyeteeth, the Mini-DAC is pretty jitter immune. I currently only have it hooked up to my computer, so jitter isn't a problem due to bidirectional buffering, but when it was hooked up in my primary system I did not hear any jitter artifacts.
Reply
post #37 of 44
12/26/05 at 7:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sum
Eyeteeth, the Mini-DAC is pretty jitter immune. I currently only have it hooked up to my computer, so jitter isn't a problem due to bidirectional buffering, but when it was hooked up in my primary system I did not hear any jitter artifacts.
Thanks sum. The jitter thing is now the main thing for me regarding the Apogee. I'm not hooked up to computer (maybe later) just an inexpensive Pioneer universal player.
Reply
post #38 of 44
12/26/05 at 7:31pm
Value is highly relative. Even though I haven't heard the Apogee, based on reviews, I'd say that there's a 50/50 chance that I'd prefer its sound over the DAC1, but with all things being equal, I really do need RCA-out or at least the USB-in. My headphone amp doesn't have coaxial (most don't), so I'd be stuck with the headphone-out from the Apogee, which I'm willing to bet is excellent nevertheless. This is my main reasoning for ruling out the Apogee for me, and why I consider to be a bit overpriced (with USB) for me. Remember that I'm not judging or evaluating its SQ in anyway and am not making recommendations to anyone based on SQ. If I do like the sound better than any other sub-$1000 DAC, though, then I'd definitely change my mind and find a solution to its lack of RCA.
Reply
post #39 of 44
12/26/05 at 7:32pm
Eyeteeth, I initially used mine with a $150 Pioneer universal DVD player with great results. It will definitely work well.
Reply
post #40 of 44
12/26/05 at 7:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by applebook
I really do need RCA-out.
I hate the idea of an XLR to RCA connector. Or even asking for a special order XLR to RCA cable. Maybe I'm wrong about that though.


Quote:
Originally Posted by sum
Eyeteeth, I initially used mine with a $150 Pioneer universal DVD player with great results. It will definitely work well.
I sold my Arcam in the spring when I couldn't hear any difference between it and the cheap Pioneer (with DVD-A & SACD thrown in!) via the DAC1. Sweet!
Reply
post #41 of 44
12/26/05 at 9:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eyeteeth
I hate the idea of an XLR to RCA connector. Or even asking for a special order XLR to RCA cable. Maybe I'm wrong about that though.
Precisely, that's why I'd prefer a dedicated RCA-output. The Apogee's USB keeps on luring me back in even though I know that I can't afford it
Reply
post #42 of 44
12/26/05 at 9:55pm
I hate the idea of an XLR to RCA as well but there are some benefits. The main one being that the signal is transmited balanced therefore reducing wire based interference. The only real problem is the 14 dBu signal differential. If your pre-amp or amp can handle it, you are fine. You can actually reduce the signal internally as well, or you can send it through the potentiometer on the device (which is an Alps device believe it or not!) to reduce the signal level.
Reply
post #43 of 44
12/27/05 at 9:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by applebook
Remember that I'm not judging or evaluating its SQ in anyway and am not making recommendations to anyone based on SQ. If I do like the sound better than any other sub-$1000 DAC, though, then I'd definitely change my mind and find a solution to its lack of RCA.
That's fine applebook, but here was your original post:

"The Apogee is way overpriced compared to its competitors that offer the same, if not superior, quality for well under $1,000 ($975 in the DAC1's case)."

You said superior?! Obviously that statement is not exactly accurate. I think you ruled it out due to the lack of dedicated L/R RCA outputs and it was a little over your budget which is fine.

Anyway, the Apogee is a very versatile high-end DAC (as is the Benchmark DAC1) and you can't really go wrong with either.
Reply
post #44 of 44
12/31/05 at 2:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by slwiser
Thinking of the mini-DAC. What is the play time with these various batteries? Thanks
I just picked up the radio shack battery. Using a USB connection, I played flac files through the XLR outs to directly power a pair of hd600's at a modest volume with a balanced cable. The play time was about 7 hours before the volume began to fade and about 7.5 hours before the mini-dac cut out completely.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dedicated Source Components
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › dac1 or mini-dac??