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AustinHorn - thanks for your insights.
Interested in your views to assist me going forward.
I have a DACport which was my first external DAC and pairs beautifully with my K702's. Since then I have acquired an Audi-gd NFB-11 DAC/HeadAmp which uses the ESS 9018 dac chip and now I have acquired a pair of LCD-2.
The DACport was usually about 2:30 pm on the dial whilst the NFB-11 doesn't get past 9 o'clock so has plenty of muscle in reserve. For my listening the DACport worked well with the 702's perhaps softening them a touch whilst the Audio-gd with the ESS 9018 seems a bit more revealing and pairs well with the LCD-2 (I like my treble ! and mainly listen to accoustic/vocals) although as the LCD-2 has had more use it or its cable has opened up more and may be the differences are not so great.
But my main rig Meridian CD player is dying so it may be time to acquire another source (probably a MacMini this time) and another DAC for the main rig. I see in your profile that you have the EE unit which also uses the Sabre ESS 9018 chip and is a very similar price to the DACmini.
Could you share your insights into how the EE versus DACmini might compare tone / PRAT wise for a main rig feeding an integrated amp and floor standing speakers ?
many thanks - Vincent
In all honesty, I see the two as very different animals which have very different niches they fill.
In one statement I can say that the EE dac, being fed from my modded HIface USB/BNC connector, can make any headphone amp I own sound BETTER with my headphones than I've ever heard them sound before. That is the bottom line. Using the DACmini as a dac only, makes any amp sound AS GOOD with headphones as any dac before, even my , highly modded, high dollar Benchmark HDR. Soundwise, tonewise, PRaTwise, the EE with that Sabre 9018 is just a better pure DAC. But the DACmini is a better buy 'cause they cost about the same & the DACmini is a great dac, a better headphone amp, & can also feed my powered PC speakers for essentially the same money. So it gives me a lot more bang for the buck. With this economy, & money being so tight, if I could buy only one, it would be the DACmini. That isn't even a hard decision. Thank goodness, I can afford to own both, at least right now. The combo will allow me to sell a lot of gear I've accumulated over the past few years & will make my wife very happy.
I plan for the DACmini to eventually be paired with an Apple TV/Apple Mini for a really nice music/video/TV system in my home office. The EE will eventually end up with my main home theater (maggie based 1.7s, MMGs, + CCR) speaker system, either as a supplement to or even replacement for the HDR.
Now, I haven't yet heard the new Burson Audio dac/amp combo but it seems to be getting rave reviews, but I'd be shocked if that combo is much, if any better as a one box solution for a PC than my DACmini. But the Burson is $200+ more & much bigger the DACmini, with the small footprint, is a better fit for me anyway. Me, I love the very small footprint of the DACmini & it sounds wonderful with my LCD-2, HE5LE, & my 600 ohm Beyer 880s (finally).
I currently use my EE as a front end for my AudioGD Phoenix & that is a combo made in heaven running balanced. I've never heard my HD-650s sound sooooo good as with that amp & a balanced cable from SSA. Same for my K702s, HE5LEs, & 880s. I don't have a balanced cable for my LCD-2 yet, but it will be my birthday gift to myself in February if uncle sam cooperates on my 2010 taxes.
Hope this helps.
Best of luck with your decision. Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.