[tommarra]

Looking for help here fellas. I need a DAC with a good headphone amplifier.
 
I have had Benchmark DAC1 and then moved to Lavry DA10. I am wondering if I have to upgrade what should i goto next.
 
The criteria is to get a killer DAC with a killer headphone amp built in. My mobile living style cannon sustain 2 different pieces of equipment and the associated cables etc. Price about 1000-1500 USD
 
P.S.: I have heard good things about Grace m902 but they say its DAC is not as good as Benchmark or Lavry.
 
 
Any suggestions?

 

[Tom W]

Maybe upgrade your source?
 
My Son and I recently compared his MBP/Air Express via toslink and my very cheap Sony BluRay player via coax (Blue Jeans Digital cable) into my Denon AVR-1803
 
Even with this modest Receiver/Speaker (Boston Acoustics HD-8's) setup the coax had a larger sound stage and more extension on the frequency extremes (mid-range was very similar). The treble was also a touch smoother on coax setup. 
 
His source was ripped from the same CD I was using in the highest quality format that Itunes allows (not sure what that is).
 
Not sure if it would make any difference on the Lavry.
 
How about re-cabling the T1's?

 

[tommarra]

I have measured and there are numerous articles out there that state the the Macbook Pro + Airport Express is a Bit-Accurate transport. I am using a high quality Glass Toslink cable and I dont believe that is the limitation because both the Benchmarck DAC1 and Lavry DA10 have excellent excellent jitter reduction.
 
I am only looking to upgrade the DAC as of now so what are my options?
 
 

 

[The Monkey]

Electrocompaniet ECD-1--used.
 
EDIT: Ugh, just saw your HP out requirement.  Sorry about that.

 

[cheaphifi]

 
Quote:

Looking for help here fellas. I need a DAC with a good headphone amplifier.
 
I have had Benchmark DAC1 and then moved to Lavry DA10. I am wondering if I have to upgrade what should i goto next.
 
The criteria is to get a killer DAC with a killer headphone amp built in. My mobile living style cannon sustain 2 different pieces of equipment and the associated cables etc. Price about 1000-1500 USD
 
P.S.: I have heard good things about Grace m902 but they say its DAC is not as good as Benchmark or Lavry.
 
 
Any suggestions?

Audio-gd DAC19DSP & C2 amp ?

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

 
Audio-gd DAC19DSP & C2 amp ?

What other DACs have you heard in the OP's price range?

 

[brandnewgame]

Lavry DA11 is supposed to have a superb headphone out.

 

[project86]

I agree on the DA11, although I'm not sure how big of an upgrade it will be. Improvement, yes. But probably not huge. I also agree that the Grace m902 has a good but not great DAC section (although the amp part is excellent), so that might not be an upgrade.
 
At that level you might be forced to split into seperate components, where there are many more options. What is so important about having an all in one unit, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[khaos974]

Mytek Stereo96 DAC, there's a review here. But at this price point I'm afraid that the most you'l be able to do would be side-grades and not upgrades.
Also, I'm pretty sure that the DA11 brings more functions Compared to the DA10, not a higher sound quality; the improvements, if there are, are at best limited.
 
Mytek Stereo192 DSD DAC or Antelope Audio Zodiac if you don't mind waiting a bit before upgrading.
Not to mention you should wait for the first reviews of those products though.

 

[Nada]

So you want a one box DAC with headphone amp that is small in size due to space limitations? You might have to accept that what you have in the DA10 is the best sound you will achiee in a single small box. To step up might mean a shift to a two box set up like Audio-GD REF5 and Roc. Sorry about hat but at least try and save youtself a costly side-grade ie an "upgrade" that really does little to truly improve things.

 

[USAudio]

As others in this thread have suggested, you might give the DA11 a try.
When doing my evaluation, I looked hard at the DAC1 HDR, m902 and DA11 and settled on the DA11.
Compared to the DA10 you get some additional features, PiC, USB input, remote support and slightly improved sound per Dan Lavry (he "tightened things up a bit").
The DA11 has some nice technical design advantages going for it over other products, such as:
- discrete headphone amp (no op amp): http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/410565/the-lavry-da11-for-your-ears-only/60#post_5540353
- digitally controlled analog volume: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/410565/the-lavry-da11-for-your-ears-only/15#post_5483146
Plus Dan Lavry KNOWS DA conversion, excellent jitter rejection, no internal jumpers, etc. 
All these things together led me to the DA11 but it's largely a personal decision, you just have to listen.  Good luck in your search!

 

[freakmax]

 Ayre QB9?
I owned Lavry DA10 , Grace m902, StelloDa100 and Apogee Duet.Although I never compare them side by side but I feel that they are all on the same leauge.
The difference between them is subtle.
 
Now Im looking at Ayre QB9.
Hopefully, it will be a big step upward.