Adding a DAC to my PINT and a few requests?

[thekid22]

I have a PINT, I love the sound, but just upgraded from a PC with a AV-710 (Nice Wolfson Dac) to a Mac Mini...

So, now I'm looking to upgrade to a DAC AMP combo like the IBasso D1, Leckerton UHA-3 Etc (in the 150-200 USD range)

Question is, if I love the sound of the PINT, is it possible to add a quality USB DAC unit and put it all together into a nice case? (if i understand right, this might be similar to the HPDac, apologies if I'm way off)

(I'm not a DIYer, so if the answer is yes, I'd be looking for volunteers, price ranges, etc)

Other things I'm thinking about: Any way that it could be powered via the USB?

Is this worth asking someone to do? dollar wise, quality wise, work involved wise?

Thanks, your input is greatly appreciated.
-Josh

 

[FallenAngel]

Uhm... MisterX's XP is an amp, not a DAC, and similar to a PINT in the sense that it's a 3 channel unbuffered design using very fast high speed opamps. It just has a better ground channel and if he built it, it's got very good parts in it.

I think the easiest way to do this would be to build an usb-powered AlienDAC (since you don't want 2 different power supplies to plug in), and put it into the same case. Make the case slightly larger and you can even fit a great pair of output caps on the AlienDAC as well. Put in a secondary input using Mini or RCA or whatever and a switch so then you'll have it as a portable amp or a USB DAC + amp. Even better, throw in a TREAD power supply in there and you have a potentially great amp that can be powered by any wallwart.

USB powered: If you want the amp USB powered as well, look into dsavitsk HPDAC. Boards are no longer available as far as I know, but having one of these, I can say it's a great little device. It's only a DAC+Amp, no secondary input, but it's completely USB powered and a great minimalistic approach to good audio.

Is it worth it? Hell yeah, but then again, I'd say that to most audiophile DIY projects that sound cool.