[JRG1990]

I need a dac with balanced outputs xlr or trs for my speaker rig, the dac must be mains powered and have usb in, for my laptop and nokia n8 , and optical in for my xbox360. Cheap as possible, any suggestions?.
So far i am considering the dac magic http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-CAMBRIDGE-AUDIO-DACMAGIC-DAC/dp/B004AO7PXM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315155496&sr=8-1 .

 

[Stevtt]

I'm using a DACmagic on my setup connected by USB from my laptop. Balanced out to an RSA Sr-71B. Works very well. Digital isn't my main rig but it is dong a good job.

 

[jr41]

I've been very pleased with my Little Dot DAC_I, it's stood up to an upgrade of all the parts around it (i.e. headphones, amplifier).
 
http://www.littledot.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=814

 

[Adda]

x2 for the LD DAC_I, bang for the buck with excellent bass and connectivity.

 

[JRG1990]

The little dac 1 , is not avaible from any uk retailers

 

[dyl1dyl]

Dacmagic

 

[JRG1990]

The dacmagic is all I can find, with balanced outputs and a good selection of inputs but it is a bit pricey and has high jitter
 
 DacMagic, Jitter @ 44.1kHz, using a laptop USB powered by power supply, total correlated jitter (ref. 2.07dBV into 8k ohms) = 2794ps (DC1 Channel), 2828ps (DC2 Channel).
 
Thats primary how I will be using it, laptop USB powered by mains, then again the quality of laptops might have improved since then.

 

[jr41]

 
Quote:

The little dac 1 , is not avaible from any uk retailers

You can order from Little Dot directly, their e-mail address is on the link I posted previously. 

 

[khaos974]

The new Asus Essence One is has XLR outputs.

 

[JRG1990]

That looks nice, I wonder whether it needs it's own drivers or not though.

 

[khaos974]

It probably needs proprietary drivers for to accept the higher sample rates on USB, but I guess a 16/44 signal should would be accepted even without drivers.
Anyway, it also has a standard SP/DIF input both via RCA and optical.

 

[JRG1990]

I need it to work with my nokia n8, the n8 only works with usb dac's that don't require special drivers like the fiio e7.

 

[dyl1dyl]

If you dont mind waiting a bit, another dac that you might want to consider is the upcoming Schiit "minimalist" balanced dac which should trump all the stuff currently listed.