[kugino]

i'm thinking about giving the nec cdrom->DAC route a shot. i'm looking for a budget DAC that has both spdif and toslink, as i want to use the nec as well as my portable md player that has an optical out. can you guys lead me toward a budget-priced one? the sostenuto has both, but i don't need a head amp. thanks.

 

[loafier]

How about this: Channel Islands VDA-1?
Never heard it before, but this DAC has what you want for $350. You can buy their upgraded power supply for $160. See the pricing on their home page

They seem to have a 30-day return policy for auditions.

Or, you could pick up a used MSB DAC or similar for lower on Audiogon

 

[kugino]

the channel islands dac looks like what i'm after...i'm wondering how it compares to a bel canto 1.1, which can be had for the same price as the ci dac and power supply. anyone?

 

[Large4mat]

Try any of the Audio Alchemy DAC's. They have both type of inputs. I'm using the NEC cdr601 at work with an Audio Alchemy DAC in the Box. The DAC in the Box is on the warm side of neutral, but is very enjoyable to listen to. The Audio Alchemy DDE 1.1 is a more lively unit. I just bought a Musical Concepts modded Audio Alchemy DDE 1.0 on Ebay for about $76.00 which will probably replace the DAC in the Box at work. Any of these units can be found for pretty cheap on ebay. Try to find one with the Power Station 1 upgrade.

P.S. Dusty at CIAudio used to work at Audio Alchemy.

 

[kugino]

well, i went all-out and decided to get the modded channel islands vda-1 dac and power supply from modwright. dan wright is a very helpful and nice guy...

it's a lot for a dac (for me, that is) and i could've spent a little more and gotten a bel canto dac2, but i wanted to try something that hasn't been reviewed much around here and since people seem to love the MSB link dacs, the CI is supposed to be even better than the MSB links. i should get my nec cdrom transport next week and will do a review once everything arrives and i've had a chance to listen...