Dac ?
Sep 26, 2011 at 12:00 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 19
bosiwollig

bosiwollig

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Hello head-fi'ers,
 
a few weeks ago I bought an audio technica ath-M50. I really love them XD. But i want more! Currently i'm driving the ATH m50
 from my onboard computer soundchip. I want better soundquality. I think i need to buy a Dac. But there is so much choice. I can't choose.
beyersmile.png
. My budget is around 100 euros. I use windows 7 . But i got also a netbook with easypeasy. I would like to use the dac with my netbook. But i 've heard the udac 2 doesn't support linux :frowning2: . Is that true ? Are there other possebilities? And if i buy a dac, should i also buy/make a cmoy to get the best sound out of my M50's? Or doesn't the cmoy help much?
 
Thanks in advance
 
edit: sometime I use also my creative aurvana live ( oem denon 1001)
 
Sep 26, 2011 at 12:07 PM Post #2 of 19
Headroom Total Bithead? 
 
Sep 26, 2011 at 12:16 PM Post #3 of 19
You'll need some sort of amp, but not a powerful one. Most entry-level USB DACs have headphone amps built in, so a CMoy won't be necessary. The Fiio E7 is a good option in this price range. I don't know if it works with Linux, it probably does.
 
If you want to try to make a CMoy anyway, the Behringer UCA202 is a very cheap and very good DAC, but don't use its headphone jack to amp because it has a very high output impedance and that's not good. Make sure the one you make a CMoy with RCA jacks so you can hook a DAC up to it. I don't know if all designs have them.
 
Sep 26, 2011 at 12:56 PM Post #4 of 19


Quote:
head injury said:
You'll need some sort of amp, but not a powerful one. Most entry-level USB DACs have headphone amps built in, so a CMoy won't be necessary. The Fiio E7 is a good option in this price range. I don't know if it works with Linux, it probably does.
 
If you want to try to make a CMoy anyway, the Behringer UCA202 is a very cheap and very good DAC, but don't use its headphone jack to amp because it has a very high output impedance and that's not good. Make sure the one you make a CMoy with RCA jacks so you can hook a DAC up to it. I don't know if all designs have them.
Click to expand...


On the E7 note, you can also consider the Fiio E10 is out soon in a few weeks you can take that too. If you need an optic out, the creative premium HD is also a good choice for a DAC.
 
EDIT: M50s are very efficient, amps just make the M50s sound better but they don't need much to drive. Also, E10 is a driverless DAC so it will work with Linux :wink:
 
 
Sep 27, 2011 at 1:57 PM Post #7 of 19
Yeah from what I've gathered, the Audinst HUD-MX1 was the baseline entry-level unit, beating out anything in the $100-$200 price range.  That was until the Yulong U100 came along, which supposedly took over that class.  However for the <$100 tier, the fiio E10 (should retail for around $80) is unbeatable until you move up to the next pricepoint.  All of these comparisons can be found on headfonia.
 
Sep 28, 2011 at 6:59 AM Post #8 of 19
So in the sub 130 euros class the fiio e10 will be the best choice? Better than the udac 2?
And can somebody please tell me what a gain control is :s (i'm pretty new to all the audio stuff)
 
Sep 30, 2011 at 11:02 AM Post #10 of 19
If I'm not wrong, it basically changes the strength of the signal output and is usually more relevant with harder to drive headphones where you find may need more power and increase the gain. Or if your using low impedance/easy to drive stuffs you may want to lower the gain to avoid potential issues with static. For example, I use a high gain setting with my M50s to bring out the mids( I don't know why but it just does) or to drive my friend's AKG stuffs. Alternatively I face static issues with my IEMs and thus set the gain to low while raising the volume. 
 
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