[wenzel]

Hello there!

I know, this is a often asked question; I know, I should just ask the search page on this site. Acutally I did so; but it didn´t help to clear my confusion.

As I´m still a student, I´m searching for a quite cheap DAC which, at least in some kind, matches my current setup. But there are just to many; and I can´t really find my path trough this jungle.

My current setup consists of a Linn Majik (the old one), two Linn Tukans (bi-wired) and an Airport Express, which is feeded with lossless audio.

Cheap means that I don´t have more than 250$ left for spending on a DAC. As I read it would definitely be a great improvement for my setup; but I also read about all the problems which can go along with it. (dropouts, etc.)

I looked at the ZERO DAC, which seems to match my expectations. But the reviews I read weren´t the most current ones.

Thank you for your help; and excuse my bad language. I´m not a native.

Greetings from Germany!

 

[vic1890]

I tried this route for awhile. I used the older AE, instead of the new versions. Dropouts were terrible for me.

But more importantly, I found that the sound quality through the AE was inferior to that of my macbook (using the same optical cable). I even connected the laptop to the AE with a ethernet cable thinking perhaps it was the network - the dropouts disappeared, but the sound quality remained inferior.

So I presume the AE has higher jitter than my macbook output. It could be different for you of course, but I'm stating my experience with it - good luck

 

[krmathis]

I suggest you seek out this thread. Of course looking at those with optical inputs.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/al...pt-2-a-325941/