Looking for $200 DAC - Page 2

I would look at it more as though you are getting one of the absolute best value dac's around and it has balanced output as an extra which can be used with a balanced amp in the future which can increase sound quality largely on certain phones.

100th post!!

Quality speakers and headphones offer more in terms of sound quality improvement than any DAC/amp (balanced or not) in the price range you are considering by a long shot. Equally is the quality of the recording you are listening to. I have gone through this myself and wasted a ton of time and money.

-Quality headphones, speakers

-Then quality recordings- maybe not possible with the bands you enjoy

-Then quality source (DAC, CD player)

-Then quality amp

(these last 2 two can be swapped in order imo)

I completely agree, but I was just giving the op what he asked for.

But buying a decent dac now means that you are unlikely to need to upgrade in the future.

You're right but I am trying to convince the OP that some D5000's (for instance) with an ipod, will increase the enjoyment factor much better than a $200 dac with M50's ----IMO.

^this statement is 400% true, but he is currently using the onboard sound on his computer, so I would suggest that he sells the m50's and spends approximately $100 on the dac and headphone amplifier and the other $200 on headphones.

I would suggest for the dac you look at the emu 0404 there is currently a modded one on the for sale forum for $100, the zero dac or zhaolu dac would also be great options if you could find them on the for sale forums.

For the headphones I would suggest either d2000, d5000 or practically any ultrasones.

anyone know about the XiangSheng Sweet Peach DAC/AMP? I wonder if the headphone out is via solid sate or tubes

For passive speakers look at the Emotiva ERM 6.2's....they have adjustments on the back that will make setup and freq response fine tuning for your application an attractive option...the price is very good as well considering what you get...the cheap T amp option would go perfectly with these speakers as would the NFB12 being used as the DAC and preamp....a tidy little system that would save you a hundred dollars or so over your max allotted budget limit.

T amp (25W RMS) under a 100 USD

Emotiva ERM 6.2's  *299USD EA (sorry I thought they meant 300USD for a pair)   http://emotiva.com/erm62.shtm

NFB-12  200USD

System cost roughly *900USD (not including shipping)... * ( even at 600USD for a pair of ERM 6.2's this is a great deal)

I bet this little system would be quite a decent performer for a long time to come. Obvious routes of upgrade would be to replace the T amp (down the road for a higher quality unit, maybe a tube amp or a Class A SS type with a little more power than the T amp). The Source/DAC/Pre unit should be good enough for quite awhile as would the ERM 6.2's being able to scale well with better gear in the future. I hope this gives you some more options to think about.....for not a lot of money today you can buy fair chunk of quality gear...something that was not possible (IMO at least) just 10-15 years ago.

Peete.

I think that the matrix mini-i or zhaolu dac would be a better choice than the nfb-12 as these both performed as well if not better than the FUN, so I would assume they would in turn be better than the nfb-12.

The zhaolu also provides lots of options for modding.

soulrider forever has some great ideas.  I may add that if I were in your shoes I would grab a pair of PSB Image 5 b stock form http://www.saturdayaudio.com/   and a Trends T-amp.  This would sound much nicer than the Swans although they are a decent step up from little computer speakers.  I owned the Swans and now have the older version of the Image B6s, no comparison, the PSB kills them.  As for the amp I have not heard the Dayton but if it is anything like Emotiva's 100 watt model I would stay far away.  My little Trends had the Emotiva going back to the factory in a week.  Heck my old Samson amp had more soul.

As for Dacs.  $200 will not get you much in terms of good dynamics and most will sound kind of lean.  I have heard a number of Chinese dacs in the lower price range and they all left me wanting for more.  If I had to gamble on a $200 dac it would be the Grant fidelity Tube Dac.  Been around for a while in many different guises and you have a decent outfil to back you up if you have any issues.  Try that with most of the Chinese stuff.

Good luck

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackmccabe 

I think that the matrix mini-i or zhaolu dac would be a better choice than the nfb-12 as these both performed as well if not better than the FUN, so I would assume they would in turn be better than the nfb-12.

The zhaolu also provides lots of options for modding.

Link?

I've owned a Zhaolu with multiple opamps and it's nowhere near as good sounding as my NFB-12.

I have only listened to a zapfiltered and oritek zhaolu, but the oritek can be found for $200~250 used.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackmccabe 

I have only listened to a zapfiltered and oritek zhaolu, but the oritek can be found for $200~250 used.

O right, I remember those mods now that totally transforms the Zhaolu into another league. Never had a chance to try them though because of the cost new.