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I need some help picking out a budget DAC

post #1 of 26
5/26/10 at 11:35pm
Thread Starter 

I've decided that my onboard laptop MOBO soundcard must be holding me back, especially considering it's a 5 year old acer

Anyways, I'm trying to pick myself out a dac for less than 150 dollars. I have a Meier Corda Headfive for amplification, and AKG K701, BeyerDynamic DT990 (250ohm), and am looking to pick up / try out some DT880 and HD600. I listen to rock music primarily, and don't care about gaming sound.

I don't know of many DACs, but from what I've found I think I'd be able to get myself:
Headroom Micro DAC or
Musiland 02 US or
Firestone Audio Fubar II

within my price range. Thoughts as to which is better or other recommendations?

Thanks Head-Fi


Edited by Zida - 5/31/10 at 11:53pm
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post #2 of 26
5/31/10 at 11:51pm
Thread Starter 

Bumping because I massively edited my opening post. Hopefully some opinions will arise now. Thanks.

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post #3 of 26
6/1/10 at 12:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zida View Post

I've decided that my onboard laptop MOBO soundcard must be holding me back, especially considering it's a 5 year old acer

Anyways, I'm trying to pick myself out a dac for less than 150 dollars. I have a Meier Corda Headfive for amplification, and AKG K701, BeyerDynamic DT990 (250ohm), and am looking to pick up / try out some DT880 and HD600. I listen to rock music primarily, and don't care about gaming sound.

I don't know of many DACs, but from what I've found I think I'd be able to get myself:
Headroom Micro DAC or
Musiland 02 US or
Firestone Audio Fubar II

within my price range. Thoughts as to which is better or other recommendations?

Thanks Head-Fi


I recommend that you have a look at the Purepiper DAC A-1 that I reviewed here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/476557/review-of-the-purepiper-dac-a-1-an-excellent-24-96-budget-dac

It is an excellent full size DAC with an excellent choice of components (better than what you can find generally in that category). You can find more details about the sound in the review.

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post #4 of 26
6/1/10 at 6:03pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the suggestion, your review was very favorable considering its price range. It seems new and hard to find, but if I find one I might try it out

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post #5 of 26
6/1/10 at 6:27pm

Used V-DAC for about $250 is very good (I owned it). The reviews for the Musiland are pretty good.

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post #6 of 26
6/3/10 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 

I'd like to ask for some quick last minute advice from head-fiers more versed and knowledgeable about dacs than I am.

I'm trying to decide very quickly between the Musiland 02 and Headroom Micro Dac. Both are liked, both will likely be better than what I have. Both can accept USB (some people seem to think that's a bad thing, should I be avoiding a direct USB connection? or is that more of a ritual/voodoo type thing). Both can be plugged in and don't need batteries, though the micro can run off batteries too. The micro is smaller.

Is there anything more important I should be taking into my consideration here (like sound)? The only reason I'm worrying is because I likely won't be able to tell if either of these are lacking. It took me until hearing my friend's onboard laptop soundcard to be able to tell that mine was actually worse.


I welcome any insight anyone has to offer. Thanks


edit: the reason I brought it down to these two is that I have found pretty decent deals on the both of them and they should be easy for me to get a hold of


Edited by Zida - 6/3/10 at 6:36pm
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post #7 of 26
6/4/10 at 1:27am

The reason people steer clear of using USB is the fact that other digital inputs (coaxial, toslink) can support higher sampling rates. You could always try a USB to SPDIF converter such as http://www.m2tech.biz/products.html.

 

As with the difference in sound between the two said DAC's, i cannot help you, sorry!

 

Tom.

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post #8 of 26
6/4/10 at 1:36am

Might I suggest looking into the usb/dac cable, it's not the last word in dac's but it outperforms some that cost much more, and is a simple cable to hok up to your amp, I think you'll be impressed with the improvement over your soundcard. link below.......great outfit.

 

http://www.headphonia.com/USB-DAC-Cable:::1010.html?XTCsid=221d75b2be9a2509395f9267cf7f19d1

 

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post #9 of 26
6/7/10 at 6:57pm

There is the basic version of the Sparrow by audio-gd, it costs $150 (with USB) plus shipping. I'm thinking of getting this one.

 

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/Sparrow/SparrowEN.htm

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post #10 of 26
6/7/10 at 7:31pm

The Music Streamer II may suit you as well. I use its big brother and absolutely love it.

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post #11 of 26
6/8/10 at 9:24pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the suggestions. The Music Streamer II might be out of my price range unless I manage to find it used.

It's too hard to pick a DAC, I'll probably just end up getting whatever I happen to find available in my price range. x|

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post #12 of 26
6/9/10 at 2:36pm

Um, you listed your price range as $150, which is the price of the Streamer II. A great DAC, which bested my Bel Canto DAC2. 

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post #13 of 26
6/11/10 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 

Oh I see what I did there, I was looking at the 'Plus' Version. In what way would you say your Music Streamer II bested your Bel Canto DAC2?

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post #14 of 26
6/11/10 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mayzei View Post

The reason people steer clear of using USB is the fact that other digital inputs (coaxial, toslink) can support higher sampling rates. You could always try a USB to SPDIF converter such as http://www.m2tech.biz/products.html.

 

As with the difference in sound between the two said DAC's, i cannot help you, sorry!

 

Tom.

I steer clear of usb and it has nothing to do with sampling rates.  The usb cable transmits power for devices, as well as data, and that power carries noise.  In my setup, this occurs whether I have usb selected on my dac or not.

 

As for the suggested usb to spdif converter, I am sure it works fine, but it is expensive.  I have yet to hear a plausible explanation for why anyone should spend more than the bare minimum on such a converter, or how it is even possible for one device to perform this function better than another, but as always, YMMV.
 

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post #15 of 26
6/11/10 at 1:50pm

Yes, sorry, i didn't mention noise and interference, thankyou.

 

But, this whole thread isn't a plausible explanation? 

 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/449885/usb-to-spdif-converters-shoot-out-emu-0404-usb-vs-musiland-monitor-01-usd-vs-teralink-x-vs-m2tech-hiface

 

Tom.

 

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