[voodoobunny]

Hi audiophiles,

I'm looking for a starter DAC recommendation under $200. Doesn't need an amp, since I already have that (speaker amp). I already know that I want something better than the Schiit Fulla 2 (I have one, compared it to my iDSD Nano Black, found it wanting).

The DACs I'm currently looking at are:
- Audioquest Dragonfly Red
- Schiit Modi 3
- Schiit Modi Multibit
- Topping D30
- JDS Labs OL DAC
- MassDrop X Grace Design SDAC Balanced

Does anyone have any experience comparing any of these products directly? And how big is the difference between the Modi 3 and the Modi Multibit in practice?

Thanks,
- Andrew

 

[baskingshark]

Hi audiophiles,

I'm looking for a starter DAC recommendation under $200. Doesn't need an amp, since I already have that (speaker amp). I already know that I want something better than the Schiit Fulla 2 (I have one, compared it to my iDSD Nano Black, found it wanting).

The DACs I'm currently looking at are:
- Audioquest Dragonfly Red
- Schiit Modi 3
- Schiit Modi Multibit
- Topping D30
- JDS Labs OL DAC
- MassDrop X Grace Design SDAC Balanced

Does anyone have any experience comparing any of these products directly? And how big is the difference between the Modi 3 and the Modi Multibit in practice?

Thanks,
- Andrew

You can check out this link for some head to head comparisons for DACs: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ad-distortion-comparison-graph-for-dacs.4814/

I use the Khadas tone board and it retails at $99 USD usually. Cheaper during sales (there's a big sale on aliexpress coming on 11/11!).
It does open up the dynamics and soundstage and details for my music, pretty bang for buck IMHO.

Khadas tone board ranks quite high here, and I can't complain much for the pricing compared to more expensive brands.

The only thing is the Khadas tone board comes usually as a naked board (which doesn't pick up any electronic interferance despite being used next to my desktop). But I paid about 13 bucks to get a acrylic case made for it, to look asthetically better.