Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › Good DAC for max $150 to replace Essence STX?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Good DAC for max $150 to replace Essence STX?

post #1 of 10
10/18/10 at 3:04am
Thread Starter 

Hi fellow headfiers, I'm looking for a dedicated DAC to replace my Xonar Essence STX. I will be pairing it with a Schiit Asgard amp.

The Musiland Monitor 02 caught my attention, as it seems to perform really well for the price.

Do you have recommendations for a good DAC under $150 which will be an improvement over the built-in DAC of my Essence STX?

Reply
post #2 of 10
10/18/10 at 3:13am

Waste of money with that budget.

Reply
post #3 of 10
10/18/10 at 3:21am

Agreed... The STX is already very good value, so I don´t think there is a DAC out there which is a clear upgrade. For 300 dollars the Audio-gd NFB-3 or something similar would be a good next step if you ask me.

Reply
post #4 of 10
10/19/10 at 11:10am
Thread Starter 

Hmmm i didn't know the Xonar Essence DAC was that good. I indeed enjoy it's sound a lot. I just assumed a similar priced dedicated DAC would surely sound better than a sound card. 

I guess i'll save up some more for something a little more serious then

Reply
post #5 of 10
10/19/10 at 2:31pm

No it's just 150 doesn't buy you anything.

Reply
post #6 of 10
10/19/10 at 2:33pm

Op-amp rolling...

Reply
post #7 of 10
10/19/10 at 10:59pm
Thread Starter 

Doesn't this only upgrade the built-in amp? I already have a Schiit Asgard amp so it's only the DAC that i wanna improve.

Reply
post #8 of 10
10/20/10 at 7:55am

Not according to this..

 

Quote:
Two New Japan Radio NJM2114 op-amps are used as a differential input Current to Voltage section (I/V), these either pass the signal to the 6120A2 headphone amplifier, or to the RCA/phono line-level output via the National Semiconductor LM4562 op-amp. Again, the switching between outputs is implemented with the NEC relays to minimize signal loss. If you want to change the sound of the headphone output, you would replace the NJM2114 op-amps. Changing the line-out sound is achieved by replacing the NJM2114 and/or LM4562 op-amps.

 

I see that some just use 3 X LME49720, more info. in this thread -> http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread

 

This might also be of interest (ASIO bit-perfect) -> http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

Reply
post #9 of 10
10/20/10 at 8:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Albedo View Post

Not according to this..

 

 

I see that some just use 3 X LME49720, more info. in this thread -> http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread

 

This might also be of interest (ASIO bit-perfect) -> http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/


These drivers improves the sound a lot!

Reply
post #10 of 10
2/15/11 at 1:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aizura View Post

Hmmm i didn't know the Xonar Essence DAC was that good. I indeed enjoy it's sound a lot. I just assumed a similar priced dedicated DAC would surely sound better than a sound card.

I guess i'll save up some more for something a little more serious then




It's good for reference, Thanks for your explanation!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dedicated Source Components
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Dedicated Source Components › Good DAC for max $150 to replace Essence STX?