where to get apogee mini-dac with usb? - Page 2

I want to hear the Mini-DAC so bad. I have heard the Benchmark, although it was an Empirical Audio modded unit. It was obviously very nice. My understanding is the Apogee is more "musical" while the DAC1 is more "analytical" aimed at professional/studio monitoring applications.

I'm not sure if I've heard the Bel Canto DAC2 or not. I listened to Edwood's rig at the SoCal meet, but I'm not certain whether I was listening to the Grace m902 DAC or if I was just using the Grace headamp fed from the DAC2. This didn't occur to me until just now.

I believe these are the most popular DAC choices priced around 1k used on the forums. I have enough money saved to buy one of these now, but I am very hesitant to blow it all on one component. To think, I set an initial budget of $500 for an entire headphone setup only a few months ago. F this place!

Can anyone tell me what I would be losing by buying the HeadRoom Micro DAC instead of the Apogee? I mean, how much of a dropoff would I expect? I like the USB connectivity option on both so I am really leaning towards them.

i've heard the overture dac for longer than i did the microDAC, which i heard at the nyc meets, and my feeling is that the stock microDAC would slot in nicely over a stock 0404, compete with a modded 0404, compete with a stock DAC-AH, No Comment on a modded DAC-AH (because i haven't heard it yet) and all of these pretty much are a tier below a Apogee MiniDAC which i can't afford hehe!

Based on a review :

"the powersupply of the Mini-DAC is a super high speed switcher. The external supply, a table top, is nothing but a DC source. Inside the Mini-DAC this DC is being converted to ultra-high frequency AC (in the range of 750kHz) a multiple of the sample rate. Next, the AC is being reconverted to normal DC. The advantage of this system is the high tolerance for any type of external powersupply (the Mini-DAC accepts DC from 6 to 14 Volt, with a minimum of 1.25 Amps). The noise of this procedure is way beyond the audible range and the response time of the circuitry is fast enough for transient up into the inaudible. Apogee claims that there is an overcapacity locally and within the power supply, resulting in a total elimination of garbage, noise, DC within the power net. This is an expensive solution, but it is very effective."

Seems like there is a built-in AC power regenerator, if so, that's a very cool feature indeed.

I think we need an Apogee Mini-DAC group buy!

Man, that price is fantastic. Damn, I bought mine from Sweetwater for a little bit less than that list price. They can't really negotiate too much on it.

I actually whole-heartily recommend SW as they have impeccable customer service and are very easy to work with.

The Apogee headphone out is quite nice for some setups though I prefer overall my RA-1.

Trogdor

As a founding member of "Team Minimalist", the integrated DAC/headphone-amp devices always held a lot of appeal. I started with a Benchmark DAC1, and ended with the Apogee Mini-DAC. I've also listened to the Grace 901, and most recently Headroom's new Desktop Portable amp w/DAC option*.

The Apogee has an immediate synergy with Grado's, directly out of it's headphone jack. The jack has a noticibly warmer output than its rear XLR analog outputs. It also happens to work extremely well with the finicky Qualia 010's. No external amp is necessary with either of these headphones.

I never found a difference between digital cables (optical or coax), or transports. I never experimented with power supplies, but there are posts here from Apogee owners that contructed battery-powered solutions that claim to achieve subtle, but significant differences. I can't comment on that.

Build quality of the Apogee is decent, if not nuclear-holocaust survivable. The volume pot is a bit on the small size, but I never had issues with it, sonically nor build-wise.

I reluctantly sold mine after selling my Grado's, and most recently getting a new hi-rez source that I absolutely love. But as a redbook source, and for the money (and quite a bit more), the Apogee + Grado (or Qualia 010) is a match made in heaven, imo. I unreservedly recommend it to anyone who fits that bill.

*p.s. As an alternative to the Apogee, I recommend looking at Headroom's new Desktop Portable amp with the DAC option included. I only spent a short amount of time with it at the last NY meet, but it sounded great with my Grado's. Very good, actually. Frankly, I don't know why the Micro line separates have been getting so much space here lately, as I think the Desktop Portable w/DAC is where it's at, imo. Perhaps the price differences? With the DAC option it costs in the same ballpark as the Apogee.

Just thought I'd confuse to a bit more

Thanks, jpelg. Sure would be nice to have a simple rig like that, I just prefer it myself. Few more questions if it's alright. Paired with Grado's does the headphone section noticeably "drive" them well, retaning deep and controlled bass as well as an extended and clean top end? I like the kind of synergy the RS-1/RA-1 have, it's very musical and very easy to listen to. However, I do find that with that particular system the bass is not quite as deep and the treble is a bit grainy and not as extended. Does the Apogee amp section do the musicality as well as deep bass and extended treble, more of the "techinical" performance and that side of things too? To me my old Gilmore Lite did the deep bass and clean/extended treble well but maybe wasn't quite as musical as my Mapletree. My Mapletree seems to be able to do both well. Does the headphone section lean one way or the other or does it do it all? You know what I'm saying here?

Did the Headroom Desktop amp you heard have any upgrades? Like the Home or Max upgrade module, the Home or Max DAC or the upgraded power supply? Just curious. I've read other threads on this and it seems like some have said the Desktop sounds great with the stock power supply while others say it's a must.

All this talk of Grado/miniDAC synergy has made my wallet start to quiver. At work I'm currently listening to miniDAC->SR71->super.fi 5 pros. It would be nice to get the amp out of the chain. I haven't listened long enough to put my finger on what it is but something about the sf5p's straight out of the miniDAC headphone out didn't sound as good as through rear mini jack and the SR71.

How's the bass compare between the RA-1 and Apogee? How about sheer drive and grip? Mids, treble? Thanks!

So the Apogee would be a nice upgrade from the microdac.