[Aizura]

Hi fellow headfiers, I'm looking for a dedicated DAC to replace my Xonar Essence STX. I will be pairing it with a Schiit Asgard amp.
The Musiland Monitor 02 caught my attention, as it seems to perform really well for the price.
Do you have recommendations for a good DAC under $150 which will be an improvement over the built-in DAC of my Essence STX?

 

[flaming_june]

Waste of money with that budget.

 

[vrln]

Agreed... The STX is already very good value, so I don´t think there is a DAC out there which is a clear upgrade. For 300 dollars the Audio-gd NFB-3 or something similar would be a good next step if you ask me.

 

[Aizura]

Hmmm i didn't know the Xonar Essence DAC was that good. I indeed enjoy it's sound a lot. I just assumed a similar priced dedicated DAC would surely sound better than a sound card. 
I guess i'll save up some more for something a little more serious then

 

[flaming_june]

No it's just 150 doesn't buy you anything.

 

[Albedo]

Op-amp rolling...

 

[Aizura]

Doesn't this only upgrade the built-in amp? I already have a Schiit Asgard amp so it's only the DAC that i wanna improve.

 

[Albedo]

Not according to this..
 
Quote:

Two New Japan Radio NJM2114 op-amps are used as a differential input Current to Voltage section (I/V), these either pass the signal to the 6120A2 headphone amplifier, or to the RCA/phono line-level output via the National Semiconductor LM4562 op-amp. Again, the switching between outputs is implemented with the NEC relays to minimize signal loss. If you want to change the sound of the headphone output, you would replace the NJM2114 op-amps. Changing the line-out sound is achieved by replacing the NJM2114 and/or LM4562 op-amps.

 
I see that some just use 3 X LME49720, more info. in this thread -> http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread
 
This might also be of interest (ASIO bit-perfect) -> http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

 

[TuR3]

Quote:

Not according to this..
 
 
I see that some just use 3 X LME49720, more info. in this thread -> http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread
 
This might also be of interest (ASIO bit-perfect) -> http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

These drivers improves the sound a lot!

 

[megjofmn]

/img/forum/go_quote.gif


Hmmm i didn't know the Xonar Essence DAC was that good. I indeed enjoy it's sound a lot. I just assumed a similar priced dedicated DAC would surely sound better than a sound card.
I guess i'll save up some more for something a little more serious then

It's good for reference, Thanks for your explanation!