Best external DAC for laptop?

[JahJahBinks]

So far I have heard Echo Indigo and M-audio Sonica and possible other external laptop sound solutions that cost less than 300 bucks. Lately I saw this product in the headphone forum:

http://www.yamahamu...ts/cavit/dpu50.asp

It seems the state of the art is moving forward pretty fast. I just want to know which to get. I know there is no review out there that compares all of them, but it would be nice to have one.

p.s. A month after I ordered Indigo and received nothing till this day, I just told Echo to goto HELL!

 

[pocomo]

Check out the new M-Audio Sonica Theater: http://www.m-audio.com/products/cons...atre_page1.php

 

[lan]

There's the ART DI/O for about $120-130. It uses COAX so you'd need something which outputs coax. You could use a Sonica and a optical->coax convertor + all the cables. But It might be cheaper to just get the Sonica Theater and use it's coax digital out. You'd also have the option of upgrading/modding the ART DI/O but see if you like the Sonica Theater (or something else) first.

 

[Wodgy]

The regular Sonica is also a great choice (there should be no difference if you listen to 2-channel audio between the Sonica and Sonica Theatre). I've owned the Stereo-Link 1200, Xitel Hi-Fi Link, and the Sonica, and of the three I much prefer the Sonica.

 

[JahJahBinks]

Can a 320kbps MP3 with a really good external DAC sound better than the same song on a CD that's played in an average portable CD player?

What about a 192kbps MP3?

The reason I ask this is because I ripped a song on a CD to 320kbps MP3 and when I played it on my laptop, the difference of that from the CD is very subtle. If there were indeed a difference than I would definitely feel it, instead of hearing it.

Hopefully my indigo will come soon so I can return it back if the sound improvement is insignificant.

CD definitely has more potential than MP3, so I believe no matter how fancy an external DAC can get, the performance eventually should top out at a reasonable price range.

 

[mfeldman]

No matter how accurate the processing, I don't think the final product can be better than the original source.

If one recorded a live performance with the highest quality equipment at 320kbps or higher, then a high quality MP3 might be better than CD, I suppose.

But if you are starting with a CD, how could any processed signal from it be more accurate?

 

[mfeldman]

The sonica has no hardware volume control, and limited output power. At home, I put the output to a yamaha receiver.

On the road, a great combo is the sonica with a Xin supermini amp.

 

[andrzejpw]

What kind of digital output does your laptop have? Is portability an issue?

 

[kelly]

The problems I've noticed with mp3s are often not the same problems as those associated with poor digital to analog conversion. Therefore, if the question is: Can an external DAC improve the sound of mp3s versus a DAC that is less good? The answer is: Yes, absolutely.

MP3s can sound quite good, by the way, if you are willing to rip the tracks yourself using Exact Audio Copy and encode to a high bitrate with a good encoder. If you mostly acquire your mp3s via the internet, then you've likely not heard the format at its best. Can it get better still? Yes, of course, there are lossless compressions such as .ape (Monkeys Audio) and .shn (Shorten) as well as other (better quality) lossy compressions like MPC, and of course, the original uncompressed wave or redbook audio CD. MP3 can be much better than many people know, though, and certainly good enough for you to distinguish the quality of one DAC over another.

 

[JahJahBinks]

Quote:

Originally posted by andrzejpw What kind of digital output does your laptop have? Is portability an issue?

My laptop has a USB 1.1 port and two type II slots. Portability is not an issue.