dac/amp combo

[manhattanproj]

i'm looking for a dac/amp combo to use with my laptop and my dap. my laptop doesnt have optical, so only usb. for my dap, i'll be using it as an amp through the headphone out. portability isnt a concern as it'll be home based. looking for something >$450-500. i also want something that actually looks like an equipment not some plastic play-toy so total bithead is out (but i can be swayed if enough ppl recommend it). i'm hoping it can be efficient/powerful enough to drive 25 - 250 ohm phones.

this is the list that i have so far:

corda aria - seems like the best option
citypulse da 2.03 - not enough impressions from other members
musiland md-10 - probably best used as a dac only as the headphone out
doesnt perform as well

what else are there?

i'm just trying to gather a list and ppl's impressions. so dont worry about what phones i have and what music genres i listen to.

 

[d-cee]

a little lower than your price bracket but you've got the excellent EMU line (0404 USB but also the higher end 1616 line of systems etc.) as well as the M-Audio Audiophile both of which are said to have decent headphone jacks as well

since it's home based i imagine clutter isn't a problem you could use a usb transport, and then hook up your DAC and headphone amp of choice without being stuck to USB but then that will probably be too many components to buy separately and not stay under your budget. i think anyway...

there are other high qual DACs with USB eg. DAC1 USB and Apogee Mini DAC but they're in the next price bracket up...

 

[manhattanproj]

i thought about the emu-0404usb as well, but it wont work with my dap? or will it?

and the only usb transport that i know of is the transit and i dont find its price justifiable for just a transport. there is also pc-link but not sure about its quality.

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattanproj /img/forum/go_quote.gif i thought about the emu-0404usb as well, but it wont work with my dap? or will it? and the only usb transport that i know of is the transit and i dont find its price justifiable for just a transport. there is also pc-link but not sure about its quality.

well it has SPDIF ins... so at the very least you can take in the digital signal, decode it and then spit it back out the analog outs, but that would require it to be connected to the but i don't imagine you can use it as a standalone DAC... though I'd love to be proven wrong (admittedly ive only done limited reading/research on this product)

 

[manhattanproj]

i wonder if there is a mini-to-optical cable? i dont see one in all the cable sites. so i'm guessing that you cant use the 0404usb as a standalone amp.

 

[mirage]

If you need an optical out from your laptop, you need a usb to spdif/coaxial/optical out converter eg hagusb, m-audio transit.

No mini-to-optical cable exists, it's impossible for a cable to convert an analogue signal to a digital one.

EDIT: yes, there are a couple Headfiers who use the 0404usb dac as a standalone even though the line out seems to be volume adjustable if I remembered correctly.

 

[coolshot]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...236255-1327167

try this
however, the lineout mini has to be a digital out like the one a macbook,macbookpro or some of the old sony portable cd players.

 

[d-cee]

oh, my mistake, i thought that your portable had optical out. i now understand that you want it simply as a headphone amp

 

[manhattanproj]

yep. it's a zune so only headphone out.

any other suggestions of a dac/amp device?