I am looking for the best sub $500 DAC for computer as source stereo listening. I think my best choice so far would be the X-Merdian with modded op amps, modded cap, and ERS paper mod. Replacing the op amp is the only mod I have found for this card although I have heard people say that there...

I was recently about to blow all my money on a pair of Grado RS-1's, a Ray Samuel's Emmeline 2 The Raptor amp, a Lavry Black DA10 D/A converter, and a yet to be chosen SACD player. However I decided to buy a small stereo instead and this being a area I am unexperienced in a have run into...

Does anyone own a pair of these or know anything about them? They look like the E4c in black to me. are they better or worse for music?

I just bought a pair of shure e4c's and I am planning to buy a Sony HD-5, Zen extra, or that new Kenwood HD-20 if it ever makes it to the states. All I am missing is an amplifier, I think tubes sound better over transistors, and I remember seeing a picture of a tube amp inside a mint tin...

Ok im not sure if this post is in the right section but oh well its my first. It is my understanding that DAC's convert digital to audio. 24bit burr-brown dac's are the best. This is where my question comes in, where do you get a digital output from a mp3 player or any other portable...