[boraakbay]

Hey audiophiles! This is Bora, from Turkey. Hope you're all doing well. Well now, since the introduction is over, lets get to the real deal.
 
I have Bose QC5 headphones and thinking that I am not getting what this device offers me with the stock sound output of a computer (well, correct me if I am wrong please). Therefore, I am interested in some budget DACs which would be compatible with Apple computers (well, all the computers in my house are either Macbook Air or Macbook Pro's). Unfortunately I don't have numerous options in Turkey. Amazon and other companies alike have a tendency to place very high shipping prices to Turkey and therefore it becomes absurd to buy a mid range device with the price of a high range one. The products I could find here are as follows;
 
1.Asus Xonar U3 (47$)
2.Behringer UCA202 (43$)
3.Creative X-fi Surround 5.1 (98$)
4.Creative Sound Blaster Play (24$)
5.Creative Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1 (129$)
6.Fiio Q1 (80$)

 

[boraakbay]

bum

 

[KetchupNinja]

1.Asus Xonar U3 (47$)
2.Behringer UCA202 (43$)
3.Creative X-fi Surround 5.1 (98$)
4.Creative Sound Blaster Play (24$)
5.Creative Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1 (129$)
6.Fiio Q1 (80$)

 
 
 
I'd go for one of these two.  The others are more gimmicky with gaming features and whatnot. 
 
I'm not too sure about the Behringer.
 
 
 
Personally, I'd pick the Q1 as it is a DAC/Amp.  It also seems to have some positive reviews here as well:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/780726/fiios-new-q1-portable-dac-amp-lets-drink-to-happy-listening

 

[Currawong]

In all honesty, I'd suggest better headphones. Noise-cancelling headphones contain a lot of circuitry that has a poor effect on the sound quality. If you can use non-noise-cancelling headphones, that would be more ideal.

 

[boraakbay]

What about AudioQuest Dragonfly v 1.2 for 99$? Would it worth? I am planning to get new headphones too @Currawong but too indecesive at the moment. Electronics are too expensive here and you can't find a good lineup for high end products.