[Paul Sheridan]

to give you a little background on the system i listen to on a daily basis:

musical fidelity V-DAC
Sugden Bijou Headmaster
ATH-W1000 Headphones

Source(s)
Lossless FLAC files on PC /Tidal hifi subscription

I am looking to get an upgrade on the Musical Fidelity v-dac which i currently use to connect to my PC (via USB). I listen to either ripped CD files (in FLAC) or via the tidal subscription. Is there anything out there within my budget (or close to) which will be a big difference to my system? (i have read up on the chord mojo, but assuming that this is only really for portable usage?).

 

[Paul Sheridan]

any help on this would be awesome, what do you normally use as a DAC and would you recommend it?

 

[Rhamnetin]

Chord Mojo is the best I've used in that price range, even though it's a portable unit.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The Mojo has 3 things to be aware. It runs on battery power. Some people have had good luck and others report battery death too soon. It has no analog in, cannot be used as a standalone amp. Since you mentioned Tidal, Chord does not support MQA.

I am running a Chord Mojo as my main DAC in a tertiary office setup. It sits on top of a yamaha mini stack and is really quite super if you can get past the bizarre UI. Mine has lived almost all its life (3 years so far) running off a USB phone charger full time or a USB computer port. Sound quality is great, output level quite good for driving intergrated amps, and plays almost any sample rate of anything.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sho...lation-quarantine-set-up.927934/post-15524848

 

[corgifall]

I really enjoy the SMSL SU-8 which I've had as my desktop dac since December 2018. I use the fiio q5s and m11 for portable or at work. The SU-8 isn't that big and looks good(IMO). Great DAC if you ever decide to move to a balanced amp down the road. The new m200 is like the SU-8 but with added bluetooth options and using an akm chip as well.

 

[NA Blur]

Topping D50s is what I like in that price range. Lovely unit. Small, built well, and has the inputs your need. It is not balanced, but outputs plenty of signal so your amp will have no problems getting the volume you want.

It's been measured and proven to be an excellent DAC.

 

[Deolum]

I have a used chord 2qute which i bought used for 550 €. I'm happy with it and pretty sure that it isn't the weakest part in my chain.

 

[Paul Sheridan]

awesome, thanks for this info! both the Topping D50s and SMSL SU-8 are the same price - is there much difference in quality of feartures/performance? If you had to choose between the two which one would you go for??

 

[corgifall]

Both are from pretty good companies. I liked the looks over the d50 and if I remember correctly it won in measurement testing on the audio science site vs the d50. Not by much if memory serves me right. Oh and I bought the sh-8 so it stacked well with that since they both look the same.

 

[Paul Sheridan]

To be fair i don‘t care about “measurement” testing, i only care about the quality/engagement of sound - does it sound good and does it make the music more “foot-tapping“?

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Pro-ject's Pre Box S2 Digital is also dual ESS9038Q2M, does DSD512 and MQA (for Tidal) and with in your budget. EISA awraded for best product for DAC/Headphone Amp category. And had very good reviews. Look for it.

https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/pre-box-s2-digital/

 

[NA Blur]

Let us know what you decide upon and how you like it.

 

[Paul Sheridan]

Let us know what you decide upon and how you like it.

Absolutely!!!

 

[SeniorBrother]

How about the aune x8. You can Change the op amps on it to get some differences.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/aune-x8.23815/reviews
This reviewer prefers it over the mojo.