[minimus]

I am trying to find a DAC with multiple digital inputs for less than ~$1500. I am aware of only two options: the Benchmark DAC1 and the Peachtree Decco (which also functions as a speaker amp). The Benchmark seems to get mixed reviews for SQ/musicality, with some loving it and others really underwhelmed by it. The Decco doesn't get much press. It supposedly sounds good but seems to have some quality control and reliability issues. I know that Bel Canto makes a multiple input DAC but it is outside my budget.

Does anyone know of other multiple digital input DACs in my price range? I am looking for something that is "musical-sounding" (not harsh or fatigueing), reasonably affordable, and reliable (the holy grail.) Ideally, I am looking for three digital inputs -- one for a universal DVD player, one for a digital cable box, and one for a Wadia iTransport. Ideally, I want the input selector (dial, toggle...) to be on the front of the unit rather than the back, since the back of the unit will be hard to access.

 

[Kees]

You can try to find an old Marantz DA12.

 

[jinp6301]

This is way below your price maximum but the Denon DA-500 that I have for sale has 5 digital inputs and sounds great for its price range and beyond, but not as good as a benchmark

 

[Herandu]

The pick of the crop is the Beresford TC-7510. It is now in MK6/4 form and has a world wide following. It has also won a couple of awards lately including Best Buy.

 

[minimus]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. That Beresford DAC sure is inexpensive. Does it really sound better than the Benchmark DAC1?

On another note, it sure seems like there is a gap in the audio market on this front. If you want a 2-channel audio system that does double duty for both music playback and home theater and sounds really good, there don't seem to be a lot of options.

(I know this question belongs in the amp forum, but would I be better off going with an integrated amp that has a good internal DAC and multiple digital audio inputs, if such a thing exists? I know there are plenty of home theater receivers on the market, but they seem to be designed for 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound and video processing rather than audio playback quality. I currently have one of those receivers, but it sounds lousy.)

 

[Herandu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minimus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the suggestions so far. That Beresford DAC sure is inexpensive. Does it really sound better than the Benchmark DAC1?

I have been accused of being biased since I got one of them. What I can say is that the latest MK6/4 makes mince meat out of the DacMagic and X-DAC in terms of PRaT. But I am waiting for the arrival of the more expensive version of the Beresford that has been discussed on another forum. It includes USB input I hear and I can sure use that for my internet radio listening through my stereo.

 

[Ben Diss]

What kind of inputs are you looking for? If you just need coax, Toslink and AES, then there are lots to choose from. If you need mulitple coax, then you're a bit limited.

 

[linuxworks]

how about this:

SPDIF 4x1 Digital Audio Switcher

front end your dac and you're done

 

[minimus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif how about this: SPDIF 4x1 Digital Audio Switcher front end your dac and you're done

I knew I would get some good creative advice on Head-fi. This switcher seems like a great low-cost answer to my dilemma. Then I can just plug it into a Mhdt Paradisea or similar single-input DAC. Thanks.

 

[minimus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Diss /img/forum/go_quote.gif What kind of inputs are you looking for? If you just need coax, Toslink and AES, then there are lots to choose from. If you need mulitple coax, then you're a bit limited.

I really need a total of three coax or optical inputs. (e.g. 2 optical, 1 coax). AES and USB wouldn't help unless there are digital interconnects that convert an optical/coax output to a USB input.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minimus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I knew I would get some good creative advice on Head-fi. This switcher seems like a great low-cost answer to my dilemma. Then I can just plug it into a Mhdt Paradisea or similar single-input DAC. Thanks.

this detaches your want of more inputs from DAC technology.

keep the switch forever and upgrade dacs each year (lol).

 

[linuxworks]

also, I found this in a search:

Remote Controlled AV Switch with S-Video, Composite Video, and Audio

it looks great! I think that either the cd4052 style chip (4:1 mux) or the fancy LT chip for proper video 4:1 mux would work for spdif. the video switch chip is $5 or so and the 4052 is in the order of a dollar or so. the most expensive parts might be the toslink modules (if you went with opto) or the 1:1 pulse transformers which you'd want to use on each input and output that is coax/spdif.

I'm thinking of putting together a design for this - just for myself. if there's interest I could post the DIY instructions. that article that I referenced needs updating but all the essential info (and more, really) is there already.

the really cool project, though, would be to have dual spdif AND hdmi parallel switching. that product type seemed to have gone out of style - with hdmi 'now' having audio inside and consumers starting to believe they should care about such things

I like to keep hdmi and audio SEPARATE. it gives me freedom and I lose almost nothing (just the 'true hd' hdmi audio which I'm perfectly happy to NOT care about).

doing the audio switching for spdif is 'easy'. doing the hdmi switching is a bit harder as the signals are more critical that they be timed right.

what I toyed with, as an idea, was to just BUY an hdmi switch and build the spdif switch stuff around it and link them together somehow. (curious: do people care about that, or am I the last hold-out on wanting to keep audio separate from video on the wires?). have the audio sub-switch slave to the hdmi master part, so that when a user selects an hdmi input, this new circuit would 'see' that and switch the parallel (but separate, [grin]) spdif part.

those are some of my DIY thoughts on the subject, anyway

 

[Herandu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif the really cool project, though, would be to have dual spdif AND hdmi parallel switching. that product type seemed to have gone out of style - with hdmi 'now' having audio inside and consumers starting to believe they should care about such things I like to keep hdmi and audio SEPARATE. it gives me freedom and I lose almost nothing (just the 'true hd' hdmi audio which I'm perfectly happy to NOT care about). doing the audio switching for spdif is 'easy'. doing the hdmi switching is a bit harder as the signals are more critical that they be timed right.

I designed a commercial unit like that about three years ago. Look up Thor HDMI selector. Didn't get a cent in royalties though. Got made redundant instead.

 

[slwiser]

Lavry DA10 has three digital inputs, one each: optical, RCA and XLR and are selectable from the front panel.

 

[minimus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lavry DA10 has three digital inputs, one each: optical, RCA and XLR and are selectable from the front panel.

For some reason, I am under the impression that the Lavry sounds very similar to the Benchmark. Have you ever compared the two?