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portable USB DAC with a 3.5mm line out (no amp)?

post #1 of 9
6/21/11 at 10:47am
Thread Starter 
hello,

i'm looking for portable USB DAC that i can plug into my work computer and use as a line-out for my portable amp. i'm looking for a DAC only, i don't want it to have any amplification circuitry. my budget is around $500 (flexible).

a few years ago i've seen people talking about something like this that was built into (or looked like) a wire (with a lump in the middle), but i really can't remember what it was called. help please? other suggestions? is there anything i should worry about for using a USB DAC with my setup (like motherboard noise, etc)?

thanks! smily_headphones1.gif

EDIT: found what i was talking about above: Devilsound 2.1 - is this still a good option? i would need a good female RCA-to-3.5mm mini for this though. what are it's competitors?
Edited by fomoz - 6/21/11 at 11:07am
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post #2 of 9
6/21/11 at 11:00am

Pico DAC only would be a great choice. smily_headphones1.gif   It has both a RCA line out as well as a 3.5mm line out.

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post #3 of 9
6/21/11 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by K_19 View Post

Pico DAC only would be a great choice. smily_headphones1.gif   It has both a RCA line out as well as a 3.5mm line out.

how does it compare to the Devilsound 2.1?
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post #4 of 9
6/21/11 at 11:15am

Delete


Edited by labrat - 9/16/11 at 3:19am
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post #5 of 9
6/21/11 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fomoz View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by K_19 View Post

Pico DAC only would be a great choice. smily_headphones1.gif   It has both a RCA line out as well as a 3.5mm line out.



how does it compare to the Devilsound 2.1?


As I've never tried the Devilsound I cannot tell you how the Pico DAC compares to it, but as far as a USB DAC goes the Pico DAC is as good as any USB DACs that I've heard thus far and is built like a tank to boot. Plus it's well below your $500 limit as well, and can save you some money. If you're looking for a simple plain vanilla USB DAC then it is definitely one of the better options out there.

 

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post #6 of 9
6/21/11 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by labrat View Post





You are thinking of the Headphonia  USB DAC Cable :

 

http://www.headphiles.org/index.php?topic=949.0

 

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/450734/headphonia-usb-dac-cable

 

You will have to find this for sale as second-hand now, can't seem to find it for sale from Headphonia any more.

Sounds good, you will need a very much better DAC to a possibly much higher price to audibly hear much difference!

There is also this:

 

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/sound-cards/audio-advantage-micro-ii.aspx

 

You can get this new, there is a small difference in sound, the Headphonia cable is slightly smoother in sound.

With a Denon or a Sennheisser you will not hear any difference!

i have the Ed. 8, it's ruthlessly revealing imo. i'm definitely looking for the best portable DAC there is and i'm willing to pay as much as necessary (the $500 is just a ballpark...).

the Pico looks good, but i'm unsure if i want an upsampling or a non-oversampling DAC yet (gotta do some reading about this). having a USB DAC one-piece wire would definitely be my preferred form factor. the Devilsound team is apparently releasing a new version called Halide "sometime Q2 2011".
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post #7 of 9
6/22/11 at 6:59am
Thread Starter 
oops
Edited by fomoz - 6/22/11 at 7:02am
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post #8 of 9
6/22/11 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by K_19 View Post




As I've never tried the Devilsound I cannot tell you how the Pico DAC compares to it, but as far as a USB DAC goes the Pico DAC is as good as any USB DACs that I've heard thus far and is built like a tank to boot. Plus it's well below your $500 limit as well, and can save you some money. If you're looking for a simple plain vanilla USB DAC then it is definitely one of the better options out there.

 

so as far as decent portable DACs go, there's only the Devilsound 2.1 and Pico DAC currently in production? might wait for the Devilsound Halide then...

btw, what do you mean by "plain vanilla USB DAC"?
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post #9 of 9
6/22/11 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fomoz View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by K_19 View Post




As I've never tried the Devilsound I cannot tell you how the Pico DAC compares to it, but as far as a USB DAC goes the Pico DAC is as good as any USB DACs that I've heard thus far and is built like a tank to boot. Plus it's well below your $500 limit as well, and can save you some money. If you're looking for a simple plain vanilla USB DAC then it is definitely one of the better options out there.

 



so as far as decent portable DACs go, there's only the Devilsound 2.1 and Pico DAC currently in production? might wait for the Devilsound Halide then...

btw, what do you mean by "plain vanilla USB DAC"?


 

There's probably more out there but just mentioning the ones I know and tried wink.gif   Portable USB DACs that I've tried are Pico DAC only and the Hotaudio DAC Straight.

 

I meant that as a plain DAC without any amp portion and such involved.

 


Edited by K_19 - 6/22/11 at 12:01pm
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