I'm currently in the market for a new DAC, as my M-Audio Firewire Solo seems to be crashing my computer and it seems M-Audio isn't releasing a fix for my issue anytime soon.
I'm really looking for a DAC that has USB in, 24bit/96kHz or 192kHz output (not just the DAC portion, but the USB receiver should support that also), line out (don't care about headphone out), can be USB or wall powered (I want to be able to take it on the airplane with my laptop), and I don't want to spend much more than $200. I was originally leaning towards getting an Audinst HUD-MX1, but I remembered my old roommate had an NI Audio Kontrol 1 and really liked it. The two devices are similar in function, except the Kontrol has MIDI capabilities which saves me from buying a separate MIDI box (I have a MIDI piano I want to hook up to my PC). All the reviews for the Kontrol I have seen online are biased heavily towards the recording capabilities of the device, and they don't comment on the audio quality coming out of it like the reviews here do.
So, if anyone has had any experience with the Audio Kontrol 1 or can make a suggestion regarding either of the two, I would love to hear it.
Also, other DAC suggestions are more than welcome.
-Dan
