I have a Deezer Premium account, which I use on my PC, HTC One X and Sony Tablet S. I use Grado SR80i phones. I have been considering buying a usb dac/heaphone amp, but wondering if it will be a waste of money with the streamed audio. Is there any way to utilise the DAC with the phone and...

(Asus STX) vs (Asus DX + SCHIIT Magni)   Headphone i am using :DT880 250ohms   Thanks in Advance

I was just wondering why so many people use a separate dac for listening to music from their pc. Is it due to the sound cards just having really bad dac chips on them, or do the external dacs have other features that make them better? I am wondering if you got a real good sound card, for example...

Hi All,   I frequently use a Wolfson DAC -equipped SACD player's analog outs into a NuForce Icon HDP.  I really like sound of those components, together, and so I am pretty happy with the amp section of the Icon HDP w/ a linear power supply.   However, taking the same Redbook audio...

Disclaimer: The thoughts and comparisons within this review are my own subjective experiences using these DACs. I have done my best to flesh out the most obvious differences between these two DAC's, and others' experiences may differ slightly, as we all experience sounds differently.   Intro...

Hello all,   I received an old NAD 2200 power amplifier and an old NAD 1155 preamplifier from my father. I believe they were purchased in the 80s. He also had custom loudspeakers made at the same time that I received as well. However, after storage the drivers were shot, and the tweeters had...

I'm looking for a new DAC so in the pursuit I've been comparing these two units for a while. I've compared them both with speakers and (mostly) headphones. Head phones Sennheiser HD650 and head phone amps Musical Fidelity XCan V3 and Audio-GD C2. Long story, short. I liked Audio-GD best and on...

Hi All! Not only am I a newbie, but I'm an old guy comming to grips with new technology. Just got a Little Dot MK IV SE and am very pleased with it, astounded would be a better word. I listen with Grado RS 1's. Usual source is CD, but also listen to music (Slacker Radio) streamed from my Droid...

What is a Classic Dac that really improves with a Concero or Audiphileo USB Converter. Anyone have any experiences to share. Thanks!

I was thinking that it might be worthwhile to start a thread listing the existing portable amps along with their price and website link. No reviews here, just a list. I have spent so much time trying to determine what options I have and would have loved to have a single source to get a list of...

Looking into some fancy new headphones and saw a lot of stuff about AMP's and DAC's, and not too sure exactly what a DAC offers. Obviously I'm new to all this, and money is an issue but currently I'm just planning and will work that out when I get there. Just to give a reference, let's say I'm...

Hey Guys, I've been looking at solutions to get I2S to my northstar...The empirical one looks a bit pricey, do you guys think this one will do the job ok? TeraLink-X Digital USB audio converter (USB-to-SPDIF) - eBay (item 330338347887 end time Jul-17-09 10:27:09 PDT) Thanks in advance...

A new true R2R Ladder DAC!  The first reasonably priced Ladder DAC to come along in a long time!   I'm very excited about the potential for the implementation of this keen new piece of gear.  Now to the particulars.   Here is the link to the Soekris website...

I'm experiencing some issues with my audio setup. My speakers have an integrated amp.   Here is what I found through testing (when I'm using lower volume on the source, I increase the amp volume to compensate):    - Integrated CD player -> Speakers: Optimal  - MacBook Pro @ min. volume...

Hey guys, I'm having a problem with my netbook's onboard Realtek High Definition Audio.. It produces a crackling noise/sudden silence when performing normal tasks while playing music files, such as scrolling on a web browser or opening a folder in explorer. The only time it isn't skipping is...

I'm in the process of researching a DAC for my desktop audio system. My PC has all three options open. Aside from optical and coax allowing for more bandwidth (24bit/96khz) what are the factors in deciding what to use? Is there any reason to opt for the USB interface?

I want to connect two different headphone amplifiers to my DAC. Is it wise to use a Y-splitter to connect both amplifiers to the DAC? Will the sound quality degrade from using a splitter? I want to avoid disconnecting and connecting cables every time I want to switch setups to avoid wear and...

Have a Creative sound card and a usb dac with an optical input (audioengine d1). Would I get better sound quality from using the optical output from the soundcard to the dac or would it be the same from over usb? I know there is less noise with optical and higher quality.  I'm still very new...

I'm moving my PC to an m-ITX build and won't have room for a soundcard anymore, so I need to make the switch to discreet components. Currently deciding between the Schiit or O2 amp for headphones, and will be using an old Sony stereo amp for my speakers. I just need a few suggestions for my DAC...

What determines sound output quality of a sound card? I guess:   sampling rate supported by DAC bit resolution used for samples quality jacks(both materials and physical characteristics)   What else? 

So, I'm running Ubuntu 12.10, and I want to use my PS Audio DLIII DAC with it. I have my Audio-gd Compass on my desktop (Ubuntu 12.10) and it shows it as a USB Audio DAC with a digital output. On my laptop (also Ubuntu 12.10) my DLIII shows as a PCMxxx (random numbers) device (or something like...

Stephen Guo of Custom-iem.com is probably best known as being the North American rep for Unique Melody. Looking closely, you'll notice that he also sells cables and custom IEMs from Beat Audio, another company based in China. Stephen speaking both languages means he can bridge the gap between...

Hey headfiers,   I have a Stax Signature Lambda SR-404 (Normal edition) and a Stax SRM-252S Driver Unit, and I wanted to get a Tube component in the chain somewhere. This is where I realized I wasn't sure if I should upgrade the driver unit that has a tube in it, or upgrade just the dac with...

which would be the superior option for the price?

Looking at Christmas gifts for a relative, a good pair of headphones and an ipod classic, which I've been reading more negative things about the Cirrus Logic DAC than positive since they switched from a Wolfson; So with that I am looking at the DT990 Pro and a Fiio e17 since it has a Wolfson DAC...