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DAC/AMP for AudioEngine A5

Jun 26, 2011 at 10:30 PM Post #17 of 30
I own the E7/E9 and the HRT Music Streamer II+, however I can't compare them since I sold the E7/E9 already.  On the headphone the HRT Music Streamer II+ will show the improvement over the E7's DAC section, however on bookshelf speakers that I pairing with my Energy CB-20 I don't know since nothing to compare with.  Overall, the bass and treble is good with my HRT as DAC, but along with my headphone is the difference or improvement you call it is more pronounce than you get from bookshelf speakers. 
 
 
 
Jun 26, 2011 at 10:48 PM Post #19 of 30
Yep I have a dell but not for long, Im getting an iMac in a couple of weeks. Do you still think he was talking it up?
 
I'm worried unless it is noticably better than something like the E7 then id be paying for nothing. Happy to pay if something around the ~$250 mark will blow me away when used with A5 speakers compared to the ~$100 DACs.
 
Quote:
eric_c said:
I think your music store guy's just talking up the product.
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/one-compatibility.php
 
It's Mac only. You have a Dell.
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Jun 26, 2011 at 11:01 PM Post #20 of 30
Well, you never mentioned that you were getting an iMac, only that you wanted a DAC to be used with your Dell laptop and the A5's--if you told him you were getting an iMac, sure, maybe he wasn't talking it up.
 
To be honest, many DACs today are decent. Even built-in ones, even integrated soundcards. Unless you're hearing distortion in your music, you shouldn't need to buy a DAC unless you just really, really want one.
 
At least wait to try your A5 with the iMac before deciding to blow more cash.
 
Jun 26, 2011 at 11:38 PM Post #21 of 30
Yeh sorry I know I never mentioned it. I guess i'm on the forums right now trying to do some research, getting a few options lined up. Getting the Apogee One seems a little weird because id be paying money for a built in condenser mic id never use. Only reason id buy it was if the sounds output justified the price tag.
 
I think that is quite a wise suggestion, just waiting to see what the built in DAC sounds like on my mac. Although I still think im going to order at least one dedicated dac to try with it then I'll send it back if the improvement is not what I expected. Ive read mixed things about the iMac's sound, some people suggesting that adding a DAC makes a huge improvment. I want to test it for myself, any suggestion on which DACs to try. Im not particualrly bothered about being able to connect headphones, so the Streamer II could be an option but based on research the uDAC-2 seems the better option.
 
Quote:
eric_c said:
Well, you never mentioned that you were getting an iMac, only that you wanted a DAC to be used with your Dell laptop and the A5's--if you told him you were getting an iMac, sure, maybe he wasn't talking it up.
 
To be honest, many DACs today are decent. Even built-in ones, even integrated soundcards. Unless you're hearing distortion in your music, you shouldn't need to buy a DAC unless you just really, really want one.
 
At least wait to try your A5 with the iMac before deciding to blow more cash.
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Jun 27, 2011 at 5:13 AM Post #22 of 30
This. You're basically spending money on features you'd never use rather than a straight up DAC. That money spent on the mic and instrument pre-input would better be off on better components on a desktop DAC
 
Quote:
ashlewis87 said:
Yeh sorry I know I never mentioned it. I guess i'm on the forums right now trying to do some research, getting a few options lined up. Getting the Apogee One seems a little weird because id be paying money for a built in condenser mic id never use. Only reason id buy it was if the sounds output justified the price tag.
 
I think that is quite a wise suggestion, just waiting to see what the built in DAC sounds like on my mac. Although I still think im going to order at least one dedicated dac to try with it then I'll send it back if the improvement is not what I expected. Ive read mixed things about the iMac's sound, some people suggesting that adding a DAC makes a huge improvment. I want to test it for myself, any suggestion on which DACs to try. Im not particualrly bothered about being able to connect headphones, so the Streamer II could be an option but based on research the uDAC-2 seems the better option.
 


 
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Jun 27, 2011 at 10:44 AM Post #23 of 30


Quote:
eric_c said:
But the Music Streamer II+ can't be used with headphones, can it? You need an amp.
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The HRT Music Streamer II+ is only a DAC, for headphone you need an amp.  When there is a significant improvement one product another is most likely the power supply, take the E7 and the E9 for example.  E7 (as an amp) simply too weak for some headphones, where the E9 on the other hand can make a big difference in audio if the headphone required the extra juice.
 
 
 
Jun 27, 2011 at 11:17 AM Post #24 of 30


Quote:
prtuc2 said:
The HRT Music Streamer II+ is only a DAC, for headphone you need an amp.  When there is a significant improvement one product another is most likely the power supply, take the E7 and the E9 for example.  E7 (as an amp) simply too weak for some headphones, where the E9 on the other hand can make a big difference in audio if the headphone required the extra juice.
 
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Yes, I understand that. But you were recommending a DAC that cannot be used with headphones, when OP wanted a DAC that could be used with headphones and speakers.
 
Jun 27, 2011 at 12:37 PM Post #25 of 30
So I thought I'd do something about this and get some answers for myself. I borrowed my friends Macbook and went and bought the Apogee One to amuse myself (Just to test it).
 
I plugged the speakers straight into the laptop and played a range of music (320kbps, which I hope is good enough quality to experience a difference). I then switched the audio output to the Apogee One, and listened again. I kept switching back and forth. I could barely tell the difference but that might be because I have a strange speaker set up at the moment(Which I'm not sure about):
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/560202/speaker-positioning-tips-pic#post_7568094
 
Anyway I was quite unimpressed with the Apogee one (Not that I am in a position to be someone who can give it a thorough testing). It's going back to the shop.
 
Jul 17, 2011 at 1:58 PM Post #27 of 30
Hey guys!
Should I get an A2 with Polk Audio PSW 10 Sub or just an A5 alone?? (coz i didnt have much budget..)
and for the amp/dac,
If I already have a HUD-MX1, is it good for using it with LittleDot MK2? Does the signal gonna be degraded?
 
 
 
Jul 23, 2011 at 2:08 AM Post #29 of 30
The AudioEngine A5's already make terrible quality music sound very very good.
 
Plug an iPod into them and they make 128kbps music sound 320kbps, if you get what I'm trying to say.
 
So before you get a DAC just test out to see if you're happy with your current output from your MAC.
 
Jul 24, 2011 at 6:18 PM Post #30 of 30
I personally wouldn't work with anything that doesn't have a pure Line-Out(only using the dac functionality), adding an extra pre-amp to the mix is silly as there is already one built into the speakers,  and trying to amp a second time as they are already amped is also silly.
 
I have been thinking about getting a seperate DAC for them as well, as switching digital connects is much easier than analog.
 
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