[Melanter]

I'd like a USB powered DAC for the price I mentioned.

At the moment I have Senn 650s and a LD mkIII. I adore the full rich sound, but could do with a bit more clarity. Not so much as to get rid of those features that I mentioned I love.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Southern_Lord]

oops, my failure!

 

[Drag0n]

I think the Musical Fidelity Vdac is on sale in alot of places.
Musical Fidelity - V-DAC - Digital to Analog Converter-Audio Advisor
Price around, check our for sale forum, ebay, audiogon etc.

Also check High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer $99 and up.
MUSICDIRECT - HRT - MUSIC STREAMER STANDARD

Heres the search with reviews and places to buy: High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer - Google Search

 

[CountChoculaBot]

I think your two best choices would be a uDac and a Streamer+; I'd go with a Streamer+ personally (only because I was a bit disappointed with the uDac; haven't heard the Streamer+ but it does get very good reviews).

MUSICDIRECT - HRT - MUSIC STREAMER+ USB DAC

 

[Melanter]

Thanks for the advice! Have you guys heard those with the senns?

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd like a USB powered DAC for the price I mentioned. At the moment I have Senn 650s and a LD mkIII. I adore the full rich sound, but could do with a bit more clarity. Not so much as to get rid of those features that I mentioned I love. Thanks for the help!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the advice! Have you guys heard those with the senns?

You should really have a look at the Purepiper DAC A1. It is a nice sounding DAC, with top CS4398 dac chips, discrete output stages and 2 transformers (one for the digital section and another for the analogue one). It is a killer DAC for the price.

I have tried it with the following combination: Purepiper DAC A1 - Little Dot MKIII - Sennheiser HD-650 and it sounded exceptional given the price.

I have already written a full and detailed review of the Purepiper here : http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/rev...et-dac-476557/

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drag0n /img/forum/go_quote.gif check High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer $99 and up. MUSICDIRECT - HRT - MUSIC STREAMER STANDARD

Quote:

S/N Ratio: (DC to 30 kHz) 82 dB

seriously? use an onboard Realtek and keep your cash, $99 for 82dB SNR is not a good deal AT ALL.

 

[Melanter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif You should really have a look at the Purepiper DAC A1. It is a nice sounding DAC, with top CS4398 dac chips, discrete output stages and 2 transformers (one for the digital section and another for the analogue one). It is a killer DAC for the price. I have tried it with the following combination: Purepiper DAC A1 - Little Dot MKIII - Sennheiser HD-650 and it sounded exceptional given the price. I have already written a full and detailed review of the Purepiper here : http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/rev...et-dac-476557/

Right, thanks for the reccomendation! The only problem with that is I'm not sure if I can use it with my Mac? I don't think I have the necessary outputs.

 

[Melanter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif seriously? use an onboard Realtek and keep your cash, $99 for 82dB SNR is not a good deal AT ALL.

What do those numbers mean? What should I look for?

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right, thanks for the reccomendation! The only problem with that is I'm not sure if I can use it with my Mac? I don't think I have the necessary outputs.

You can either use it with the optical out of your mac (it has an optical input) or you can use it with the usb to spdif converter+coaxial cable that are provided with it.
Either way, you should have a decent sounding DAC.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do those numbers mean? What should I look for?

FYI, a CD has a theoretical resolution/SNR of 96 db and 24/96 material can have a SNR of 144 db. In real life, most DACs and ADCs are limited to around 120 db.

A SNR of 82 db is bad as you might hear noise/hiss with high sensitivity headphones or speakers. Also, it is a sign of poor built quality. Most good DACs that I have measured myself have a SNR higher than 100 db which makes them dead quiet.

 

[Melanter]

I really do value your opinion Slim.A but I know things like these are very subjective.

Does anyone have thoughts on how the purepiper matches up with the uDAC, for Senn 650s + LD mkiii?

 

[koven]

try to get a used v-dac if you can swing it.. they usually sell for 200-250

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do those numbers mean? What should I look for?

a CD offers 96dB(6dBx16bit), that's really the bare minimum to shoot for...any serious unit has +100dB SNR nowadays.

 

[sseckm?n]

Hi - I just literally just read about this new upsampling(24/96) DAC for less than 200$. Here's a link: Purepiper DAC A-1
And lee, what's wrong with good 'ol records? 12 can(could?) blow your knock soff!