Cheap DAC recommendation

[MermaidMan]

I am looking for a cheap (~100) DAC to use with my laptop (only USB out...Lenovo) and CD Player (NAD 512 w/ coaxial out). The DAC will be hooked up to a Yamaha A 760 integrated amp driving my HE400's. I have no problem buying used. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

ELE EL-D01 USB DAC, $15
 
Hifimediy sells several USB DACs, starting at $30.

 

[jodgey4]

Stoner Acoustics UD120 for sure is a great choice! Schiit Modi is another popular choice.

 

[cel4145]

Might be hard to find a good DAC with both USB (laptop) and Coaxial (CD player) inputs for <$100, so I'm guessing you are mainly looking for a DAC for your laptop?

 

[MermaidMan]

Might be hard to find a good DAC with both USB (laptop) and Coaxial (CD player) inputs for <$100, so I'm guessing you are mainly looking for a DAC for your laptop?

I'd pretty much be splitting the time with my laptop and cd player as I love the NAD and have a ton of CDs. I also have a lot of music on my laptop but the sound quality of my laptop is pretty poor, so I definitely need a DAC. I can't find any information on the DAC chip used in the NAD but it's 19 years old so it has surely become obsolete by now. How far would I have to up my budget to get all of those inputs? My old Tubemagic D1 that I sold has all of them, but is there's something better in that price range?

 

[jodgey4]

I'd pretty much be splitting the time with my laptop and cd player as I love the NAD and have a ton of CDs. I also have a lot of music on my laptop but the sound quality of my laptop is pretty poor, so I definitely need a DAC. I can't find any information on the DAC chip used in the NAD but it's 19 years old so it has surely become obsolete by now. How far would I have to up my budget to get all of those inputs? My old Tubemagic D1 that I sold has all of them, but is there's something better in that price range?

DAC chips don't really go "obselete" - people love some of the older DAC chips because they use R2R tech instead of modern Delta-Sigma. The NAD 512 you have is a noise-shaping DAC (Panasonic? MN6474), which I'm pretty sure is the same as Delta-Sigma. The cheapest DAC I know of that does all those inputs is the Modi 2 Uber. There's gotta be something cheaper though...
 
How much better does the NAD sound? It might be the best choice to just rip all your CDs and go with a cheap USB DAC like the UD120, and the DAC in your NAD should work in a "pinch" too.
 
You gotta decide what the weakest link in the chain is before you move on.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I am looking for a cheap (~100) DAC to use with my laptop (only USB out...Lenovo) and CD Player (NAD 512 w/ coaxial out). The DAC will be hooked up to a Yamaha A 760 integrated amp driving my HE400's. I have no problem buying used. 

 
Is the DAC section on the NAD broken? You can just keep using that for CDs, and get a USB DAC for the laptop.

 

[goodyfresh]

I agree with the guys saying that getting the USB DAC for your laptop should take precedence over getting something for the CD player, especially if the DAC in the CD Player still works, it should alraedy be giving good sound quality anyways.
 
Supposedly, HiFiMeDIY uses some of the most high-end hardware to be found in under-100-dollar DACs, so I'd look into them.  You probably want to get something asynchronous, and if you really want to eliminate any possible sources of noise, something power-isolated, such as, say, the HiFiMeDIY UAE23+, which is available with all the necessary cables for 89.99 on Amazon.

Unfortunately, I can't really think of anything in your price-range that would have BOTH USB and Coax inputs, buddy. . .so you're probably gonna have to just stick with something for USB.  Although, I've never researched it but I do believe there's such a thing as a Coax-to-USB adapter/converter/decoder. . .or am I incorrect about such a thing existing?  If there is, I bet you can get one for cheap, and pair that with a USB DAC and your CD Player to get the CD player to input to the DAC.  ALthough, I'm not sure if it would give you any better sound quailty, in that case, than the CD Player on its own, since it's entirely possible that any such adapter or converter might add in some extra noise to the signal.  Or maybe not.  You'd have to research it, I suppose.

 

[MermaidMan]

I'd like to thank everyone for the very generous responses. Yes the NAD does sound better than my laptop, and the DAC in it works fine ($5 thrift store find!). I've heard that it's supposedly one of the best players NAD has ever made as well. I am probably going to go the hifimediy route for my laptop. I'm trying to put together a meet in the next month or so in Cinci if anyone is interested. I know it's unrelated I'm just trying to get the word out. Thanks again!

 

[goodyfresh]

I'd like to thank everyone for the very generous responses. Yes the NAD does sound better than my laptop, and the DAC in it works fine ($5 thrift store find!). I've heard that it's supposedly one of the best players NAD has ever made as well. I am probably going to go the hifimediy route for my laptop. I'm trying to put together a meet in the next month or so in Cinci if anyone is interested. I know it's unrelated I'm just trying to get the word out. Thanks again!

You're welcome!  Good luck, and happy listening

Btw man why the heck is your avatar a molted Spectacled Bear?  That sheeit is FUUUUGLY!   Haha.  I mean unless that's actually a picture of YOU, in which case wow dude, I am so, so very sorry, my condolences

 

[MermaidMan]

You're welcome!  Good luck, and happy listening


Btw man why the heck is your avatar a molted Spectacled Bear?  That sheeit is FUUUUGLY!   Haha.  I mean unless that's actually a picture of YOU, in which case wow dude, I am so, so very sorry, my condolences

Hahaha made my night. Most animals just get funnier when you shave them. A bear, however, becomes the worst thing you've ever seen. In all seriousness though, I have no idea. My avatar was one of the stock photos you can choose when you join (HD800 I think) and I got bored of it lol.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Btw man why the heck is your avatar a molted Spectacled Bear?  That sheeit is FUUUUGLY!   Haha.  I mean unless that's actually a picture of YOU, in which case wow dude, I am so, so very sorry, my condolences

 

I think "molted" refers to a reptile or an arthropod shedding its outer skin/exoskeleton, usually as it grows a larger one and outgrows the old. With mammals and that bear in particular it's some kind of disease, usually some kind of fungal infection or in some cases a parasite. The most common would be the animal itching like hell and just pulling its hair out, kind of like if you had severe dandruff, you scratch vigorously, and bam - you find a few strands on your hands.

 

[Armaegis]

You could perhaps find a used Modi2uber which can handle the usb and coax.