That's my intuition as well, but I'm still surprised. The noise makes listening to most things almost unbearably bad, and I feel like any USB DAC should sound at least as good as an iPod. Any recommendations for a good, inexpensive DAC for me to try out next time?

Hi all,   I'm technically a new user here, but I've been reading through head-fi threads/reviews for headphones for several years now, and have made a couple of purchases based on people's recommendations that have been really useful. I originally posted this in the recommended newbie forum...

Bump? If I'm posting in the wrong forum, I'd appreciate someone letting me know!

Hi all,   I'm technically a new user here, but I've been reading through head-fi threads/reviews for headphones for several years now, and have made a couple of purchases based on people's recommendations that have been really useful. I originally posted this in the recommended newbie forum...

Hi all,   I'm technically a new user here, but I've been reading through head-fi threads/reviews for headphones for several years now, and have made a couple of purchases based on people's recommendations that have been really useful.   Background: My current headphones are a pair of...