Are there any small dongle USB DAC/amps that have balanced output for headphones (either balanced 4.4mm or XLR) ? I'm looking for something small like the AudioQuestion Dragonfly units. I'm looking forward to subscribing to lossless Apple Music or lossless Spotify later this year.

Ultrasone announced the Volcano, a new build-to-order $20K vacuum tube headphone amp with a lifetime warranty. It is a pure headphone amp with no digital section. From an Audioexpress.com article: The Bavaria-based headphone manufacturer just introduced a new high end product to...

I saw the recent news on The Absolute Sound that Luxman released their new $16K USD flagship D-10X SACD player. It has digital inputs so you can use it as a DAC. What's interesting is that it has a DAC chip that I've never heard of before, the ROHM Semiconductor MUS-IC BD34301EKV. I've...

Denon announced a new mini-sized CD player / transport, the DCD-50, that pairs well with their other mini-sized integrated amp, the PMA-50, that was announced a few months ago around December. What Hi-Fi has a report on this pair of components.   The new DCD-50 has a 32-bit/192-kHz DAC, but I...

It looks like Technics (part of Panasonic) is getting back into the high-end audio component game. At IFA 2014 this week, they announced two lineups: a Reference Class R1 and a Premium Class C700. Pricing and availability are not known, but What Hi Fi says that the R1 complete line is 40,000...

monoandstereo.com reports on McIntosh's new MCH1000 headphones revealed at the Munich High End Show going on this week. The headphones had previously been shown at CES 2014.   http://www.monoandstereo.com/2014/05/mcintosh-mch1000-headphones-new.html   NEW McIntosh MCH1000 headphones...

Grace Design updated their m903 with a new m920 model that has an ESS Sabre DAC with DSD decoding. More information here:   http://www.gracedesign.com/products/m920/m920.htm   Stereo analog inputs - balanced (+4dBu) XLR and unbalanced (-10dBv) RCA. Ultra low distortion 32-bit /384khz Sabre...

I am confused by (1) the CD rips to ALAC using iTunes and (2) using the resulting ALAC files with a DAC.   First, when I use the most recent version of iTunes and rip to ALAC, there are no settings, just "Automatic". The resulting files are apparently 868 kbps.    Second, I'm looking to use...

Looks extremely nice. It's good to see the big boys like Denon and Sony finally getting into this space. No mention of price or if it's coming to the USA.   http://www.monoandstereo.com/2014/01/denon-da-300usb-dac.html   French...

Just found this new DSD DAC. No mention of price.   http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/10/korg-ds-dac100-and-ds-dac100m-mobile.html               Original Korg page in Japanese: http://www.korg.co.jp/Product/Audio/DS-DAC-100/da-dac-100.html   Google translate says:   Real-time...

I am thinking of getting into some high-end stereo components. I have some questions:   1. Is it ok to stack 3 components on top of each other? Would there be any problems with heating, interference, etc.?             2. I would like to keep these components next to my computer desk, so I'm...

Sony recently announced a bunch of new high-end gear along with a DSD high-resolution download website.    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57601589-47/sony-gets-serious-about-high-resolution-audio-again/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheAudiophiliac  ...

I'm interested in buying a small integrated amp with analog input such as a Bel Canto C5i or Bel Canto C7r. I was hoping to use the output of another DAC to feed into the amp, which in turn would drive speakers for near-field (desktop) listening. However, from what I see, this amp does the...

Although I'm largely a headphone user, I've purchased active speakers for my computer system, only to be disappointed by hiss. I've bought high-end B&W MM-1 to low-end Creative speakers, and they all exhibit some form of hiss, even when no music is playing. I'm guessing it's due to the amp being...

I've been looking for a DAC, headphone amp, and CD transport combination for a long time, and I think I've finally found a good solution in the Musical Fidelity M1 stack. Any opinions?   I like the fact that they're all the same size, so hopefully I can stack them one on top of the other...

I bought some new computer speakers and am hearing from static hissing noise coming through them. I am using USB to connect the speakers to my computer, so I am guessing the hissing is from the power supply or the electricity from the wall. My home was built in 1987, in case that's relevant.  ...

I just bought some new computer speakers and found that the cable that goes from the satellite to the subwoofer is too short for my needs, so I'm looking for some sort of extension cable.   Below are some pictures. Am I correct in assuming that the cable is an RCA cable?    If so, is...

I just bought the Bowers and Wilkins MM-1 speakers for my MacBook Pro and Windows PC desktop. For some reason, when I turn off any music or other audio on the computer, I hear static (white noise) coming from the speakers when I plug them in via USB or RCA into either the MacBook Pro or my...

I know there's a cool desk thread in the computer audio section. But I wanted to ask anyway: What's your opinion of glass desks?   Is reflection or glare a problem? Too hard to hide wires? Any other problems?   I'm thinking of buying this one from Crate and Barrel:  

I'm looking at the Woo Audio 2 preamp. The inputs will be a CD player and my computer's Asus Essence STX sound card. The outputs will be a Denon D5000 headphone and AudioEngine A2 powered speaker/monitors. So some questions: 1. If I plug my headphones into the WA2, will that mute the RCA...

I am looking to buy a nice pair of active speakers, either high-end computer speakers or studio monitors. One thing I noticed with monitors from M-Audio, KRK, AudioEngine, et al., is that there is no convenient volume knob; if such a knob exists, it is on the back of the monitor. I guess...

I'm interested in buying either the Focal XS ($599) or the new Bowers and Wilkins MM-1 ($499) multimedia speakers. The Focal model has an iPod dock on the satellite stand, which I would find useful. Any opinions on them? One thing is that they both take USB input and a 3.5mm minijack. The USB...

I want to buy a DAC to complement my old CD player and my computer (which has an Asus Essence STX soundcard). My headphones are Denon D5000 and Sennheiser HD 595, in case that matters. I would like to buy either a Benchmark DAC 1 USB ($1295) or a Lavry DA11 ($1480). These are the only two...

Does anyone have any more news about the Ultrasone Pro 900 Balanced headphones? They come double-ended balanced from Ultrasone. I think they are the only balanced headphones sold from the manufacturer and not modded by a third party. Will they be sold in the USA...

I currently have my Denon D5000 headphones plugged into my 10-year-old DVD player. I would like a good DAC and amp combo. From reading head-fi, I've drawn two good setups for around $1200-$1400: 1. Woo Audio 6 amp and PS Audio Digital Link III DAC 2. Benchmark DAC1 USB (has a nice DAC and...