[HarryOMalley]

Hello all,
 
I own a pair of AKG K550s and I am soon going to be purchasing a pair of beyerdynamic DT 990s. The version of these headphones that I am likely to be purchasing is the 250 ohm version. From this, and the fact that I would like to improve the sound of my current AKGs, I want to get a DAC. Already I have made a Gainclone Amp to power a speaker setup in the Living Room, so I will likely make another for my computer. Having looked around I noticed how expensive the DACs are and generally the message I am getting is that for it to be worthwhile, you likely need to spend several hundreds of pounds. So I started to see if I could make my own DAC, and I was very quickly overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of DIY DACs on the market. I would like to know what you all think the best one is, obviously it needs to have a 3.5mm output and ideally powered by USB. I have looked at the pupDAC and Opus DAC so far.
 
Thanks.

 

[DutchGFX]

The Buffalo DAC from Twisted Pear (same place as the Opus) is the best DIY DAC, no doubt. As for price/performance ratio, the Buffalo can cost thousands to build in some cases, so...

 

[HarryOMalley]

Thanks for the reply, i've pretty much decided now that i'm going to go with the pupDAC, i'm going for a budget setup!

 

[DutchGFX]

The AMB Gamma2 is also a cheap build, good luck!

 

[HarryOMalley]

So i've been looking into the DAC etc, and im starting to wonder whether building a Gainclone is the best option, how does it compare with other amps such as the O2 amp etc? 

 

[UNOE]

The AMB Gamma2 is also a cheap build, good luck!

how much would that cost to build?

 

[DutchGFX]

how much would that cost to build?

Not gonna lie, I have no clue, but I think around $200 maybe less

 

[DingoSmuggler]

  So i've been looking into the DAC etc, and im starting to wonder whether building a Gainclone is the best option, how does it compare with other amps such as the O2 amp etc? 

Gainclone is a speaker amp, not headphone amp

 

[DutchGFX]

Gainclone is a speaker amp, not headphone amp

Indeed. I totally didn't see the gainclone stuff. The headphone "gainclone" is called a CMoy and quite frankly it sucks. Albeit it only costs $20...

 

[HarryOMalley]

Hi both thanks for your replies. That's what I was thinking, although the Gainclone is good sounding with speakers I didn't know whether it would transfer to headphones too... Have you heard what the O2 Amps sound like? They seem like a good route to go down.

 

[ZachPtheDude]

Not gonna lie, I have no clue, but I think around $200 maybe less

Yup. MisterX will build you one for $312 shipped if SMD isn't your thing.

The Soekris R2R DAC might be the best desktop diy dac, depends what kind of sound you're chasing.

 

[ZachPtheDude]

Build a torpedo or l'esspressivo (same amp, just your choice of thru-hole PCB soldering or point to point) if you want something with the kind of current the AKGs want, but also the voltage the beyers need.

 

[MisterX]

$312 sounds like a 3 years ago price.

 

[HarryOMalley]

I would really like to make Tube amp, however they seem to be slightly more expensive and I want to pick an amp that will last well, and I can make (relatively) quickly. At the moment, I am going to make an O2 Amp and i would like to make the ODAC or the pupDAC, the ODAC is supposedly very good, however I cant seem to find a place to purchase the PCBs - but I am going to continue looking!

 

[HarryOMalley]

Not gonna lie, I have no clue, but I think around $200 maybe less

 

I have also been looking at that, do you know how the quality of the Gamma2 compare with that of the ODAC?