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DAC or Dac/amp suggestions around $400

post #1 of 12
4/16/11 at 1:03am
Thread Starter 

Looking to upgrade my source, and these are the DACs and DAC/Amps that I've found recently in the $300-$400 range that have been well-regarded.  Anyone with comparison knowledge or others to add, please share!  I'm looking to use them with JH-13s, either with the integrated amp, or with a small portable, depending on what sounds better.  Would like to have balanced to be able to go that route in the future, but it's not an absolute requirement.

 

 

 

Yulong D100   (balanced)                 ($450, but still in the ballpark)

 

Onix DAC25   (balanced)

 

Cambridge Audio DacMagic   (balanced)

 

Apogee Duet  (balanced)

 

Matrix Mini-i (balanced)

 

Centrance DacPort  (se)

 

HRT Music Streamer II+  (se)                 (pro is balanced but at $500 is out of price range)

 

Audio-gd NFB-3   (se)

 

NuForce HD    (se)

 

 


Edited by AVU - 4/17/11 at 11:46pm
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post #2 of 12
4/16/11 at 1:24am

Matrix Mini-i. Balanced DAC with preamp feature and remote. ($340)


Edited by ETAHL - 4/16/11 at 1:26am
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post #3 of 12
4/17/11 at 12:26pm
Thread Starter 

updated with Onix25, which is on sale everywhere, and which I'd like to know more about.

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post #4 of 12
4/17/11 at 11:47pm
Thread Starter 

Has anyone compared any of these? 

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post #5 of 12
4/18/11 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVU View Post

Has anyone compared any of these? 


There are tons of information on this site and the net. You just have to search them out and plow through them.

 

I just pick the top two popular ones, which would also have the most technical support, and decide which one has the features I wanted. In my case, it was between the Yulong D100 and the Matrix Mini-i. From my research, the D100 has a more powerful headphone amp, higher sample rate USB, and maybe a subjectively better sounding DAC. Technically, the Mini-i has better DAC chips.

I like the remote, preamp feature, smaller size, better looks, and the lower price of the Mini-i. I already have a good amp and no need for high sample rate through USB, so I got the Mini-i.

 

Here are some info on the Mini-i

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/441960/matrix-mini-i-balanced-dac-hp-amp

http://www.headphonista.com/matrix-mini-i/

http://www.headfonia.com/matrix-mini-i-balanced-dac/

 

The Yulong D100:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/499562/review-yulong-d100-dac-amp-reference-quality-with-a-reasonable-price

http://www.head-fi.org/products/yulong-d100/reviews


Edited by ETAHL - 4/18/11 at 10:57am
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post #6 of 12
5/20/11 at 8:01pm

bumpie

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post #7 of 12
5/21/11 at 2:26am

Reviews say the Maverick Audio D1 is better than the Cambridge DAC Magic.

 

It's also cheaper.

 

Perhaps that's something to think about.

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post #8 of 12
5/21/11 at 4:20am

An emu 1616 or 0404, they measure far better than most $1000+ dacs.

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post #9 of 12
5/22/11 at 9:30am

Channel Islands VDA-2

Musical Fidelity V-DAC

 

Both are highly regarded and mutliple award winners. Just run a search on the web.

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post #10 of 12
5/22/11 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ETAHL View Post




There are tons of information on this site and the net. You just have to search them out and plow through them.

 

I just pick the top two popular ones, which would also have the most technical support, and decide which one has the features I wanted. In my case, it was between the Yulong D100 and the Matrix Mini-i. From my research, the D100 has a more powerful headphone amp, higher sample rate USB, and maybe a subjectively better sounding DAC. Technically, the Mini-i has better DAC chips.

I like the remote, preamp feature, smaller size, better looks, and the lower price of the Mini-i. I already have a good amp and no need for high sample rate through USB, so I got the Mini-i.

 

Here are some info on the Mini-i

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/441960/matrix-mini-i-balanced-dac-hp-amp

http://www.headphonista.com/matrix-mini-i/

http://www.headfonia.com/matrix-mini-i-balanced-dac/

 

The Yulong D100:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/499562/review-yulong-d100-dac-amp-reference-quality-with-a-reasonable-price

http://www.head-fi.org/products/yulong-d100/reviews



Tnks!!! I posted asking about this 2 a couple days ago

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post #11 of 12
5/29/11 at 5:31pm

Simaudio D100, Channel islands VDA-2, and Arcam rDAC

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post #12 of 12
5/29/11 at 5:54pm
Thread Starter 

any recent comparison reviews of those?

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