The dCS Vivaldi system made its debut at the Hong Kong High End Audio Show a few weeks ago. http://www.theaudiobeat.com/hongkong2012/hongkong2012_dcs.htm   It will appear in New York this month or next. At US$110,000, how much would it be a step up from the Scarlatti system, which is the...

I posted this in the Head Gear section, but I thought I'd add it here. I bought MorbidToaster's Calyx DAC out of curiosity and shameless consumerism and this is what I thought of it.   With the nuclear power stations across Japan almost all shut off, our electricity supplier threatened us...

Hi Folks. I'm looking to upgrade from my cyrus DACX+ which I use with a cyrus external power supply also. I have been considering Chinese alternatives to get more for my money. DAC@S Ive been looking at include  Lite DAC 68 (tube anologue stage) Lite DAC 83 Monarchy Audio NM24...

hi guys,   i just got my SR009 and 007a. I run the 007a as a power amp, meaning full volume with a pre-amp before it. i think the sound quality is amazing. but it is indeed a tad on the bright side (in fact quite bright for my liking).   i wonder if anyone here has any experience on how...

I've been searching around for a Canadian made DAC, and stumbled upon exaSound who I suppose are best known for their exaU2I USB --> I2S interface.   They've apparently just released their E20 DAC, based on the infamous ES9018 Sabre chip and I can't for the life of me find any information on...

M2Tech launch their new high end DAC Amp : Vaughan   Voughan has very interesting high end DAC section :   - The designer use Four DAC IC's per chanel in MONO Mode   - The designer use High Current LiPo Battery for sophisticated low noise power supply base on high capacity   Please see...

Hi , any recommendation for the following combination for listening music ( Mp3's 320 bitrate and Flac ) from my desktop. I have just purchased the Akg K550 headphones with Audinst HUD-mx1 Hi-Fi USB as a DAC. I was thinking about the Matrix M-stage amp but i don't know how if it pairs good...

Can I plug an iphone... into a DAC, then the DAC into a headphone amp, and then headphones into the amp... I can't seem to find the answer.  Is this possible?  I'm new to this...

I am mainly looking for audio quality. The price can go up to $300 for a portable amp. I would highly appreciate it if you guys help me to finally make up my mind.

So I am looking for a headphone for $600(I have a FiiO E11 for an amp but if I need them with a amp then add that into the $600 because I can't really go a tick over $600 and I dont have a DAC either.) So I have Grado SR80's right now and I went to the Sony Store a couple of hours ago and tried...

I want you to rank your audio equipment (specific items) based on what you feel has improved your listening pleasure.  Be it a DAC, PMP, Headphones, Amp, equalizer, cable, computer media player, modification you made, tube type, etc...   Rank as many items as you want, and include a brief...

Based on a lot of reading, I think that the HE-500's fit my tastes the best. I did have a HE-400 for a while, but returned it because I didn't like it and it was one of the earlier batches that was defective.   I mostly listen to classical music (violin concertos) and stuff that's heavily...

Hey guys, ive just got a couple of questions about possibly adding a DAC to my home setup, ive searched a bit through the forums but all of the threads i see are people going from right out of their computers to looking at DACs. I'm having trouble trying to figure out if adding a DAC will...

Just installed W8 Retail when it popped up on my MS Dev account.  At first, I was really angry.  Apparently MS wrote a new kernel scheduler and my audio was jerky because it kept interrupting my ASIO driver. Then I begrudgingly tried WASAPI.  After various tests, I can verify that it's...

Anyone interested? Dr. DAC prime simply has everything you need in order to listen to digital music with pristine audio quality on the road or at your home. Dr. DAC prime works with up to 24bit/192kHz and is not only equipped with both an optical (via the included miniplug-toslink...

Hi,   I normally only listen using headphones at work where I am running a USB DAC (Music Streamer II) connected to a PPA. At home, I just use cheap 2.0 speakers with a line out from my motherboard. I noticed my motherboard also has optical out and possibly digital coax out as well. I have a...

Hey Head fi,  Does anyone know a good dac to pair with the Schitt Asgard? I use a Macbook Pro 13in. 

HP Pavilion dm4-3170se Beats Edition Entertainment Notebook PC (Beats by Dr. Dre)   http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/A6X83UA?HP-Pavilion-dm4-3170se-Beats-Edition-Entertainment-Notebook-PC&jumpid=re_r602_q312_psg_beats_us_dm4     or   ASUS N...

Hi!   My brother is looking to get a new cheap DAC while he is saving up for the Apogee Duet 2.   We are mainly looking at the Fiio E10 which you can get on ebay for about 70usd.   Do you guys have any other tips on a good dac in the 100usd range ?   Thanx!

Just got a sweet new computer and I'd like to do some music production. I've decided upon Senn HD600s for cans, KRK Rokit 6's/8's (or maybe even VXT 4's) for monitors, and Ableton. Now I just need help selecting an interface. My main concern is losing sound quality/fidelity using an audio...

Hi Head-fiers, I'm a long time lurker first time poster, and this time my wallet is stumped!   I was hoping someone could kindly educate me about USB to S/PDIF interfaces.   I find that the Schiit Bifrost DAC is $450+ and houses a 24/192KHz C-Media CM6631 USB interface, so why would...

I'm looking for a DAC with a good DAC and un-amped line-out I can connect to my iBasso PB2. I'm been looking but I can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere, was hoping you guys could help. My portable setup is an iBasso DB2 (DAC) and iBasso PB2 (AMP), here's my dilemma. I can only hook use...

does anyone know about New portable DAC "Pan am".   looks like it's coming out in Sept 5.  bit pricy...$699     THanks

I have a Sennheiser HD598 headphone connected to a Soundblaster XFi-surround 5.1 pro (my computer doesn't have space for an internal sound card). Suppose I would connect some expensive DAC with a USB 2.0 instead of my current Soundblaster, would it make any difference for the soundoutput? My...

I'm looking for a PC DAC that I can use with my Audioengine A5's. Right now I'm using a Lexicon Alpha and I love the sound but it can't play 96k or 192k. I'd like something similar that'll give me wider soundstage and great clarity with vocals. I also intend to upgrade my A5 in the future to KRK...