[KevC]

Hey guys,

I've been using my laptop at school for studying and I can forsee doing that for the next year. Right now I'm running my Westone UM1 directly from the laptop, and though it sounds alright (isolation ftw!

) it can be a little better.

The onboard sigmatel chippy lacks oomph and depth.

I know the UM1 do scale a little bit with amplification, so i'd like to experiment.

The only thing is, I don't really have much funds. I was thinking of a very cheap solution. Maybe a TBAAM with a CMOY or something like that? Or if somebody put both of these together in one package, that'd be cool...

Note: I've been out of the scene for a long time, I dunno what's the latest and greatest in this category (or any for the matter!)

Cheers
-k

 

[jamato8]

What is your price range? Cheap doesn't really define it.

 

[KevC]

As little as possible? <$100? I suppose I can stretch it to $150 or so..

 

[jamato8]

Well you asked about an amp and USB dac and much is on the forum here. The least expensive I have used and at the same time does a very good job is the iBasso Boa at around 170 dollars plus shipping from China. You could either order one from iBasso or maybe find one used on the FS forum. The Boa appears to be very reliable and works well both as an amp or USB dac and is quite small.

 

[Asr]

You could commission an AlienDAC from MisterX, should be <$100.

 

[KevC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif You could commission an AlienDAC from MisterX, should be <$100.

The AlienDAC is very interesting. However, it appears to be a DAC only, (at that price it was kinda obvious =)). I wonder if I could commission somebody to build an AlienDAC and Mini3 into a single case.

The iBasso D2 Boa is pretty. $170 is a little pricey. I'm considering whether this single year of study (I'm graduating, so I don't see myself needing this after I'm done) is enough for me to splurge on this. But then again, these sorts of things hold their value quite well, don't they?

Or the el-cheapo solution is the TBAAM (~$30 locally) plus a compact low end amp (PA2V2, little-dot, mini3, C&C Box+, etc?)

 

[Borat]

This?

Portable USB DAC Headphone Amp w/recharge Li-ION - eBay (item 280252517292 end time Aug-09-08 14:15:07 PDT)

I've never heard it. But it's a cheap, portable USB DAC + amp.

There is some discussion about it here.

 

[Double Dark Horse]

I've got an iBasso D1 that I might be willing to sell and do a partial trade if you've got anything interesting. It's pretty new and comes with OPamps. PM me if interested.

 

[srserl]

There is also the Headroom Total Bithead for $150 new. They regularly come up for sale used in the for sale forum around $100.
I have one I've been meaning to place mine for sale there (since I have an Alien and Mini3 now), so I know there will be one for sale soon

I thought the Total Bithead was great for transportable computer listening, but the shape of the amp is not too good for truly portable listening (due to the configuration of the i/o ports, it doesn't fit well in your pocket).

Scott

 

[malldian]

I would suggest the BitHead as well. Headroom is a great place to deal with too.

 

[MeanWillieGreen]

3x on the BitHead - really drives my K701's very well with my MacBook

 

[Dash]

There is a Pimeta and Silverstone USB DAC in the FS forums for $125.