[mikealdren]

The world has gone mad!

I upgraded ny hifi system with a Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3 a while ago and it's been excellent so I've been thinking about buying a Chinese DAC for my home computer setup. I've been monitoring reports here on Zeros, Little Dot, Valeb etc but when I looked on Ebay yesterday I found:

Aune
Valeb
Little dot
Zero
Mocha
Muse
LITE
HLLY
Iindac
Yulong
Keces

Where do we begin? The problem is that most owners will have only heard one or two and then how do they compare with the western competition?

Are there any that can be discounted as non-starters and any that are sure fire winners?

Mike

 

[markop2003]

I love my Maverick but then i've only heard this one. Though if you're shipping a long distance or live in a high tax country it's definately worth considering as it's free shippinng and they mark the worth as 30USD so you won't get taxed.

Most of those include extra featuresso first you should pinpoint what you actually want. If you want a headphones amp you'll narrow it down and if you want to be able to use it with analogue inputs to then you narrow it down to about 3. Also note the digital inputs, some of them are USB only.

 

[stokitw]

I guess it's pretty difficult to find one person who compares all of them.
Regarding Aune, it's a brand under hifidiy.net.
The website sells diy parts and finish products.
Therefore, it's possible you'll see different sellers selling their assembles.
Make sure you get it from a reputable seller like coolfungadget.

I got the mini usb DAC MK2, it fits my need for office using.

Keces is actually from Taiwan, he sells his own product line.
I don't have personal experience on his products, but I think you can find the reviews here easily.

I'm afraid that's the only thing I can contribute..

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealdren /img/forum/go_quote.gif The world has gone mad! I upgraded ny hifi system with a Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3 a while ago and it's been excellent so I've been thinking about buying a Chinese DAC for my home computer setup. I've been monitoring reports here on Zeros, Little Dot, Valeb etc but when I looked on Ebay yesterday I found: Aune Valeb Little dot Zero Mocha Muse LITE HLLY Iindac Yulong Keces Where do we begin? The problem is that most owners will have only heard one or two and then how do they compare with the western competition? Are there any that can be discounted as non-starters and any that are sure fire winners? Mike

 

[fdhfdy]

Little Dot, Yulong, Valab, Keces, Zero are the best ones I know. Among them yulong is dadecated to dacs. Lately they released a new dac called "1704" built with high quality 1704u/k dac chips which makes 24/96 decode to usb available. According to the designer, the usb part uses about same circuit as qb9's. THe builder is very confident about his new product and claim this dac outperforms his other products considerablly. The price is about 450$ + shipping.

Also don't forget Musiland D10 which is one of my favorate.

 

[fenixdown110]

I actually recently took the plunge on StyleAudio's Korean made Carat-Emerald DAC amp. A bit pricier than those listed above, but not by much. Original retail: 350. Sale: 195.

 

[Sparky14]

Just be prepared to deal with a hassle if you need service. I'm in the midst of a month long problem in dealing with a well-liked seller from China for a component that hasn't worked right. Truthfully, the seller has been very good about it and tried to get it right.

But still, just the fact of the time changes and communicating via e-mail makes it a very slow process. For me, it has been a full month, and I finally grew weary and asked for a refund today. We'll see how that goes.

 

[ciphercomplete]

You should check pacificvalve.us to see if they offer any those DACs. They are a US distributor and they will personally service the DACs if there is any issue.

Also Little Dot is really good about customer service so you shouldn't have any qualms about them.

 

[mikealdren]

Thanks all, I'm UK based so the pacific valve doesn't really help but the general info from all is very welcome. I will be going to China at Christmas and depending on my itinery, I may try to buy a DAC out there. If I do, I'll report back on the adventure!

Mike

 

[Dexon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Among them yulong is dadecated to dacs. Lately they released a new dac called "1704" built with high quality 1704u/k dac chips which makes 24/96 decode to usb available. According to the designer, the usb part uses about same circuit as qb9's. THe builder is very confident about his new product and claim this dac outperforms his other products considerablly. The price is about 450$ + shipping.

Can you give us link or something with info about the dac? Nothing comes up when I google it.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Little Dot, Yulong, Valab, Keces, Zero are the best ones I know. Among them yulong is dadecated to dacs. Lately they released a new dac called "1704" built with high quality 1704u/k dac chips which makes 24/96 decode to usb available. According to the designer, the usb part uses about same circuit as qb9's. THe builder is very confident about his new product and claim this dac outperforms his other products considerablly. The price is about 450$ + shipping. Also don't forget Musiland D10 which is one of my favorate.

The PCM1704UK has nothing to do with USB....USB requires another chip altogether which 9 times out of 10 is the mediocre performer the PCM2707 which does not allow 24/96 over USB but caps that at 16/48. In order to enable 24/96 over USB requires an expensive chip and it's related software/hardware. Look at the Bel Canto DAC 3 or the Benchmark DAC's for details on such things or google 24/96 over USB and you will quickly find out the difference between a DAC chip (the PCM1704UK) and the interface needed for USB operation to feed that DAC chip.

Peete.

 

[fdhfdy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif The PCN1704UK has nothing to do with USB....USB requires another chip altogether which 9 times out of 10 is the mediocre performer the PCM2707 which does not allow 24/96 over USB but caps that at 16/48. In order to enable 24/96 over USB requires an expensive chip and it's related software/hardware. Look at the Bel Canto DAC 3 or the Benchmark DAC's for details on such things or google 24/96 over USB and you will quickly find out the difference between a DAC chip (the PCM1704UK) and the interface needed for USB operation to feed that DAC chip. Peete.

Hi Peete, thanks for the tips. Was told by the designer about it, know nothing about the chips myself. There might be some misunderstanding. Would be nice if the builder can see this thread and clarify what he said.

 

[PooManDeluxe]

Newbie here. I've actually been looking for a decent DAC+Amp unit to drive my SR-225s. These Burr Brown chip numbers only confuse me, so what do you guys think of this one?

USB DAC+Headphone Amplifier(PCM2707+DIR9001+PCM1793)

USB DAC + Headphone Amplifier(PCM2707+DIR9001+PCM1793) - eBay (item 280418206164 end time Dec-02-09 07:51:33 PST)

Looking past the unit's origins, and difficulty in reselling/getting support, would anyone recommend this?

 

[pp312]

I bought one of these from that seller. It arrived in good time, well packed, and has worked without problems--hum, buzz, thumps or anything else--with both 300ohm 650 and 50ohm 595. Sound seems very neutral to me but that's about all I can say as I'm one of those to whom an amp is an amp is an amp...more or less. But it's cheap, apparently well made, sounds good and has all the inputs you could wish for. Can't comment on service, but frankly, service is a moot point when you're buying from so far away. Apart from catastrophic failure, I consider myself on my own under those circumstances.

Bottom line: go for it. You won't find anything else with those facilities at that price unless it's another Chinese effort.

 

[MikeW]

Think i'd go with this one first.. bit more expensive though.


CryoParts Pop Pulse 1796 DAC

Quote:

Originally Posted by PooManDeluxe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Newbie here. I've actually been looking for a decent DAC+Amp unit to drive my SR-225s. These Burr Brown chip numbers only confuse me, so what do you guys think of this one? USB DAC+Headphone Amplifier(PCM2707+DIR9001+PCM1793) USB DAC + Headphone Amplifier(PCM2707+DIR9001+PCM1793) - eBay (item 280418206164 end time Dec-02-09 07:51:33 PST) Looking past the unit's origins, and difficulty in reselling/getting support, would anyone recommend this?

eidt: nevermind, I dident notice it was an AMP and DAC the first time. Thought it was a dac only. Still, I think an EF2 would be a much better bet.

http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=74

 

[devast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW /img/forum/go_quote.gif eidt: nevermind, I dident notice it was an AMP and DAC the first time. Thought it was a dac only. Still, I think an EF2 would be a much better bet.

You think a pcm2707 is better then a 1793 ? Maybe in dreamworld.