Questions about the Musiland Monitor 02?

1. eBay will probably give you the best price new. They don't come on sale here very often.
2. I usually use MediaMonkey and Foobar. There is no special software to control volume or anything.
3. As most Head-Fi'ers would say: YES!!!
4. What headphones are you going to be using? You might want to save up and buy an amp later.
5. The uDac is great for its price. And if you want to use this DAC with a laptop on the go, that is probably what you should get. But if you are going for a home setup, the Musiland is more than worth the extra cost.

"copy and paste all of violin's responses"

i have no experience iwth the uDac but it does seem interested for the price. i went with the musiland because on paper, it seems to be better but.... who knows. i have no point of reference. the musiland was my first dac

1. As far as I know, yes, unless you get it used. For shipping from China, it's about $125. For shipping from US (faster), it's about $130.

2. Yes, there is proprietary software but that's only to control the sampling rate, buffer size, and to switch outputs from RCA to headphone out. (You probably won't need to change these settings but I use them to switch from headphones to RCA output speakers.) The actual volume controls can be controlled normally through your computer audio (whether through hotkeys, audio panel, media program, mouse, etc.)

3. I would actually recommend against getting an amp unless you upgrade your headphones. The 555s and 840s don't scale that well with high end amping, ie they are fine with the built in amp on the Musiland.

4. Especially for $100 or less, there will be very little, if none, improvement over sound quality with an amp. Save the money for other hobbies, CDs, future upgrades, girlfriend, etc.

5. The uDAC is quite nice for audio on the go and it is powered by USB. Most people buy it because 1) it's more publicized and sold by a US company and 2) it's more convenient and smaller (about 1/3 the size of Musiland). That said, the Musiland sounds better, especially without a decent external amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

Okay. Where could I get in from the US? So I should save about $500 for an amp like yours? 

 

Well since this is MY thread....which would be best for my first pair of REAL headphones, HD555, SRH840 (used for like $115), or M50's? I would prefer open but I really also want bang for my buck...

EDIT: Sorry, didn't see your budget. Grados are fantastic for their price (mainly the lower-end stuff).

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

Okay. Where could I get in from the US? So I should save about $500 for an amp like yours? 

 

Well since this is MY thread....which would be best for my first pair of REAL headphones, HD555, SRH840 (used for like $115), or M50's? I would prefer open but I really also want bang for my buck...

For $130 shipped in 3-4 days:
http://cgi.ebay.com/MUSILAND-Monitor-02-US-USB-Digital-Sound-Card-Amplifier-/320566298129?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa33d8611

As for first REAL pair, I would recommend searching up threads on this forum according to your musical preferences (no one headphone is good at everything). I can't offer a valid opinion on those choices because I've only heard the HD555 of those. As for me, my first audiophile headphone were the Grado SR-80i. A bit bright with awesome liquidy midrange and decent bass. Best meant for rock, electronic, etc. but decent for classical, pop, and everything else. Best of luck in your search.

BTW, I recommend buying used if you can from the For Sale forums here because 1) you save on the premium price of buying new, 2) most people here take meticulous care of their headphones so used really means almost new, and 3) you can sell them to upgrade to something else and lose very minimum/no money.

Just my thoughts... Good luck