[jimmyjames8]

From personal experience instead of "I heard that the XYZ dac that may be released from Joe's kitchen table dac shop might sound good", the Silverstone dac cannot be beat for $89. The DacMagic at $400 is the one to beat at or near that price point. The CIA Dac will crush anything at $600 to $1200 but does not have USB in.

 

[MikeW]

i've heard the CIA VDA2 myself and it is faboulous but out of your price range. I can't reccomend the valab at this point, way to many problems with quality control and a design flaw that requires you lower the volume or get distortion.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by csommers /img/forum/go_quote.gif #1: Apogee Duet(mac only) #2: dacmagic #3: pico dac Thats how I would rank some of the "cheaper" DACs out there or soon to be released.

My ranking would be
Stello DA100
Pico
HR MicroDAC

Never heard Dacmagic, is it really better than Pico as DAC only?

P.S. Of course there is always an option to get a very decent non USB DAC and accompany it with something like Trends UD-10.1 USB/SPDIF converter.

 

[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif My ranking would be Stello DA100 Pico HR MicroDAC Never heard Dacmagic, is it really better than Pico as DAC only? P.S. Of course there is always an option to get a very decent non USB DAC and accompany it with something like Trends UD-10.1 USB/SPDIF converter.

I'd have to agree with those rankings.

 

[anadin]

How can anyone call a Stello DA100 a cheap DAC?

Its around £450-£500 here in the UK.

I can get a Musical Fidelity V-DAC for £129 in the UK, that's what I call cheap and it sounds better than the Stello DA100.