[Jersey]

I was thinking the Fubar II or the Silverstone? Any recommendations for others under $150?

I'll be using the DAC --> PA2V2 --> AKG 601k.

 

[fr4c]

you could get a Lite DAC-AH for around that price.

 

[Firam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fr4c you could get a Lite DAC-AH for around that price.

That is what Jahn would say. I bought one on friday and I'm waiting for it to arrive. It is well liked, go for the DAC-AH.

Edit: Oh and keep in mind that you must factor in interconnects and soundcard costs. Because I don't think you can output from the ipod or ipod dock to the DAC, I'm almost positive. So you are looking at $30 for a AV-710 and anywhere from $10-∞ for a interconnect from DAC to amp plus a optical cable from soundcard to DAC running again $10-∞.

 

[TURBO]

I ordered one also. It's waiting for me at my work place. I need to start looking for a nice toslink cable. Grrrrr...

 

[mttr0]

I'm also in the process of buying a DAC... here the 2 I'm looking at:

1. http://www.diyeden.com
   They have some nice looking items, even some that have USB for a very good price. I haven't been able to find a review in english though. The great march costs $220 in china.
2. http://www.zhaolu.com
   The zhaolu is a nice model and you can find a lot of reviews here. It has a headphone amp integrated. It's also balanced and easily mod'able too, $120 in china.

Lawrence Chan <lawrencechanckbig@yahoo.com.hk> can help you get
them ($300 for the DIYEDEN Great March, $180 for the Zhaolu, shipping is another ~$60 though). They are both slightly above your limit but worth considering IMO. I think I'm going to order a zhaolu right now...

-M

 

[jriihi]

I get most probably my diyeden great-march tomorrow so can comment about it.. Only problem is didnt get stock unit so maybe it doesnt help afterall..

 

[TooNice]

Slightly? That's like double lol...

Especially if you add onto the Zhalou.

To be honest, I am interested in those sub $500 DAC, but there are not enough round up comparisons. I think a lot of people just buy one based on what their little pinky tells them (or rather, based on what they read - but its still intuition in the end), find that it is better than sans-DAC/a comparably low end source, and live happy ever after (until they can afford an upgrade).

I probably won't invest in a DAC for another year now, but hopefully there will be some swaps/more comparisons as time goes by.

 

[jriihi]

Yeah mine is under $500.. it was $488 shipped

At under $500 there are lots of dacs.. too many to list

 

[TooNice]

But surely there are some that really stand out and are often compared?

I mean, there are a lot of headphones under $500. But the same names are constantly echoed in these forums, and we get frequent debates on the differences between those headphones.

 

[jriihi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TooNice But surely there are some that really stand out and are often compared?

Well lite dac-60 seems to be popular if thats what you are asking

 

[mrarroyo]

How about the Silverstone EB-01 at $105 delivered: http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-eb01.htm

 

[lionel marechal]

I cannot really give you input or comparison with anything else, but I am myself happy with the firestone audio Fubar USB DAC.
Note : The Ipod is not connected to it, it is in the picture just for dimension purpose
Lionel

 

[manhattanproj]

lionel marechal, have you tried running the fubar thru your computer? how clean is it?

one more question, can you power a hd595 with just the fubar? have you done it before? let me know, thx

 

[lionel marechal]

The fubar is running from my PC, there is not other way,it is a USB DAC. The sound is very clean, the first thing I was happy with is the cleaning of the background noise/hissing compared to my regular standard sound card.

You DO need a headphone amp behing it, the fubar output is 2 RCA audio, you cannot connect an headphone to it and there is no amp inside.

I personnaly to go for the Cute Beyond amp (same company) based on reviews and the 'sexy' factor (look at the picture

). But you could use any other amp.

Note : The Ipod is not connected to it, it is in the picture just for dimension purpose


I hope this helps
Lionel

 

[XxATOLxX]

DAC-AH.

I love mine, its a definite step up from the EMU-0404.

Don't know much about the Zhalou and the DIYeden though