[gs12]

Hey guys,
 
So I got into HiFi quite recently. I made the conscious decision not to buy a DAC right away because I wanted to start by feeling the world of HiFi out a bit and see if I wanted to invest more. As it turns out, I do want to invest more. What I currently have is a crack and a HD650, and I'm just amazed at how much noise my desktop makes. Hearing circuit cards working is fun at first but gets old, and you especially don't want it disturbing the music. 
 
So I've been looking into DAC's. Been reading and reading but in the end as a total noob I don't feel I can make an informed decision before asking advice from people who have experience. Of course there have been threads asking pretty much this exact same thing, but not recently.
 
From what I gather there are 2 obvious choices: Bifrost being the more expensive option (pretty much on the limit of what I'm willing to spend, and NFB-3.33. Basically what I'm asking is am I missing some other great options within this budget, and if not: is the bifrost worth those extra 100-150$ or should I go with the NFB-3.33?
 
Feel free to also suggest basically anything else that could improve my setup!

 

[anson67]

Will you be using USB or optical/coax out of your system?  I chose to bypass USB for optical out of my Macbook Pro and purchased the Schiit Bifrost without the USB option.  Price was much better that way, and since Schiit poo-poos the USB option anyways, it was an easy decision since my MBP has an optical S/PDIF output.  I can't join the USB-sounds good/bad argument because I've not heard the Bifrost connected that way 

  I was happy with the Bifrost before but having just installed the Uber upgrade, I'm even happier!
 
I also have a Bottlehead Crack driving a Sennheiser, but the HD 600.  I love this combination with the Bifrost at the head of the chain.  Though I have already built the Speedball boards I have yet to install them because the Crack sounds so good now, I've basically procrastinated with further work.
 
Best of luck.  IMO you can't go wrong with the Bifrost.  You don't have to upgrade to the Uber board right away to cut down on the initial outlay.

 

[gs12]

Oh I forgot to mention it has to be USB which makes the bifrost quite a bit pricier. The question is, can I go wrong with the audio gd? I'd rather not go wrong with that considering the price difference..

 

[anson67]

For USB, you could certainly give the Schiit Modi a try.  At $99, if you don't like it, consider the 15% restocking fee the cost of being able to audition one for 15 days.  Check out the reviews in this forum.

 

[i019791]

Quote:

Oh I forgot to mention it has to be USB which makes the bifrost quite a bit pricier. The question is, can I go wrong with the audio gd? I'd rather not go wrong with that considering the price difference..

I had the NFB-3 in the past and there was nothing wrong with it. You may also consider the Audio gd NFB-3 (384).