[VacantPlains]

I am looking for a relativley affordable DAC (probably USB) for using my laptop as the source. I will be purchasing the M-Stage amp from Matrix and therefore won't need a DAC/amp combo. Portability isn't a huge issue either but I'm not opposed to something portable if it fits the bill and price point. I haven't decided yet on headphone but am leaning towards the DT 990s. Thanks for the help.

 

[lowboy]

Define "affordable". Games/movies, or just music?
 
If it's just music, these are ones that came up a lot when I was searching:
 

1. ODAC ($150 fully assembled, $100 for just the guts)
2. NuForce uDAC-2 ($110 on amazon)
3. Fiio e10 ($66 on amazon)

 

[VacantPlains]

I like the looks and price of the Fiio e10. Going to look into that a little more. Those are all around the price range I expected. I'm mostly just listening to music and the gaming that I do do doesn't require great locational precesion. 

 

[VacantPlains]

Would a combination of the e10 and M-stage be adequate to drive the DT 990s with 600 ohm impedence?

 

[lowboy]

I'm in the same situation as you: going to buy an M-Stage and need a DAC to pair with it.
 
I also came across the Stoner Acoustics UD100: http://www.head-fi.org/t/626632/tiny-dac-big-sound-impression-of-stoner-acoustics-ud100-vs-odac
 
Compares very favourably to the ODAC (which is often cited as outperforming its price range) and it's only $50.

 

[chrislangley4253]

ODAC would be my suggestion. It pairs very nicely with the M-stage (which is very similar to the Objective 2)

 

[dscythe]

Quote:

Would a combination of the e10 and M-stage be adequate to drive the DT 990s with 600 ohm impedence?

i love my E10, very good price for what you get. For the E10 with the M-stage, the E10 only acts as a DAC and passes the signal to be amplified by the matrix, which has more than enough power for the dt990s

 

[Roller]

Quote:

I am looking for a relativley affordable DAC (probably USB) for using my laptop as the source. I will be purchasing the M-Stage amp from Matrix and therefore won't need a DAC/amp combo. Portability isn't a huge issue either but I'm not opposed to something portable if it fits the bill and price point. I haven't decided yet on headphone but am leaning towards the DT 990s. Thanks for the help.

 
Look into ODAC and HRT MusicStreamer II. Avoid the uDAC 2, it's been known to have hardware issues.