facelvega
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2006
- Posts
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It seems that for anyone trying to set up a dac and amp rig for a computer-based system, there is a major sweet spot around $500-600: enough to get a respectable home amp, tube or solid state as you like (a Darkvoice or an Arietta, say), along with a passably good hifi DAC (a Zhaolu 3.0, Great March, Dac-AM, etc.). A mid-level dac/amp combo like the Meier Cantate rings in at about the same price point. Add in an appropriate high-end headphone, and you have your foot in the door of high end sound. Sure, there's plenty of room to move up from there on both components, but most of the head-fi greybeards would grant that you have a respectable system at that point. Incidentally, you're also out $700-900 including headphones, before you even add any bells and whistles like nice interconnects or upgraded caps.
And what is the next level down? For many, a dive all the way down to the $200-250 bracket, and a corresponding dive in potential performance. I'm thinking of portable dac/amps like the iBasso D1 or Meier Move, or less-known examples like the new Headstage Lyrix USB or the Hippohifi Bloat. Another popular choice is to make do with the headphone amp built into what is primarily a source component, like in an e-mu 0404 usb or certain DACs. These are all great options at their price point, or when portability is key, but they're far from that first bracket.
THE GOAL OF THIS THREAD is to identify a middle path bridging this divide, a home system not giving up too much to the gear at the $500-600 sweet spot but with a price not too far above the portable/integrated options. I'm shooting for stuff at around $150 per component, with a hard cap of $200 shipped, new or used. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE OTHER COMPONENTS AND OBSERVATIONS, and I will gladly edit them into this first post.
DACs:
One caveat: I'm thinking only external DACs with separate receiver and dac chips, not simpler models based only on receiver chips like the Alien, Fubar II, or Silverstone EB01. Please convince me if you think this is a bad idea.
Also, the Beresford, 0404 USB, and Zhaolu have integrated headphone amps as well. They're not as good as proper home amps and relatively underpowered, but none are supposed to be terrible.
Beresford TC-7510 mk6: the cult grows around this unlikely unit, see the big thread in the dac forum. Precisely $199.99 shipped.
Creative E-MU 0404 USB: the poor man's presonus, I guess, though probably ten times more common on Head-fi. A flexible component. Looks like around $170 shipped.
Diyeden SVDAC04: not regarded as well as the Beresford or Zhaolu, but perhaps because not many people seem to have heard this one. There is now an 05 version. I see the 04 at pacific valve for $170 shipped.
Lite Dac-AH: It's been updated and revised since, but the classic model is at pacific valve for $191 shipped, maybe less elsewhere.
Super Pro DAC707: The new generation of the Dac-in-the-Box. I hesitate to include this one because of its low price and tiny size, but the chipset is actually quite good. Hopefully reviews will show up soon to tell us if it's really any good. I see $80 shipped for the normal version at obadimports, and $102 for the version that also has USB direct from diykits. Sascha Obad says he expects to have it in stock within the week, at which point we'll have a North American price too.
Zhaolu 2.5 (or 2.0): one of the classics among the growing batch of affordable Chinese dacs. People love to mod them. Since the 3.0 came out, these have dropped down to the sub-$200 range shipped.
Amps:
Little Dot II++: The last evolution of Little Dot's first generation tube amps. Much cheaper than its successor the MKIII, and available new for $198 shipped to the US.
Laconic Lunchbox I: Many thought it the best of the early batch of cheap tube amps, though only for use with high-impedance headphones in its stock form. Now that the II is out, the first version of the lunchbox has settled at about $150 shipped, it seems. I just bought one at that price, anyway.
Meier Audio Headfive: not quite an Arietta, but not far from it, and Head-fi boosterism to boot. Used examples finally seem to be consistently selling well below $200 shipped.
Original Master: as the Lunchbox I was best suited to less-sensitive and high impedance headphones, the Master was better for low impedance and high sensitivity. Used for well under $200 shipped.
PIMETA: The classic DIY amp designed by Tangent. These can be built with a wide range of parts quality, power supplies, and casework. A stripped-down model might run as little as $70; $200 would get you virtually every bell and whistle this design is capable of, plus a nice custom case. I'd shoot for one at around $100-150, with the upper range for units with good parts and an internal power supply, usually a TREAD.
PPA: A much more substantial DIY amp than a PIMETA, but with prices to match. Designed as a collaboration between people at Head-fi and Headwize. It seems most builds use only very good parts, which means that these tend to start at around $200, though at that price you'd be lucky to get a very common add-on, the STEPS, a DIY power supply designed by Tangent.
Less-common DIY amps: Tube/SS hybrids like the SOHA and the Millett Hybrid sometimes appear for as little as $150-200. DIY Gilmore Lites and Dynalos with lesser external power supplies sometimes go as low as $200. Odd models like the CK2III tend to sell for less than $200 unless the seller is willing to wait for a buyer who knows what they are. A full m^3 rarely goes for as little as $200. For all of these, you need to read up on the unit in question. N.B., I'm assuming for this thread that the reader will not be building his own DIY amp, which would of course impact prices.
Combos:
Presonus Central Station: perhaps the most highly-regarded piece of studio equipment on head-fi, both as a dac and especially for its amp section. I see blemished or b-stock examples selling online for $380 and $400 shipped.
And what is the next level down? For many, a dive all the way down to the $200-250 bracket, and a corresponding dive in potential performance. I'm thinking of portable dac/amps like the iBasso D1 or Meier Move, or less-known examples like the new Headstage Lyrix USB or the Hippohifi Bloat. Another popular choice is to make do with the headphone amp built into what is primarily a source component, like in an e-mu 0404 usb or certain DACs. These are all great options at their price point, or when portability is key, but they're far from that first bracket.
THE GOAL OF THIS THREAD is to identify a middle path bridging this divide, a home system not giving up too much to the gear at the $500-600 sweet spot but with a price not too far above the portable/integrated options. I'm shooting for stuff at around $150 per component, with a hard cap of $200 shipped, new or used. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE OTHER COMPONENTS AND OBSERVATIONS, and I will gladly edit them into this first post.
DACs:
One caveat: I'm thinking only external DACs with separate receiver and dac chips, not simpler models based only on receiver chips like the Alien, Fubar II, or Silverstone EB01. Please convince me if you think this is a bad idea.
Also, the Beresford, 0404 USB, and Zhaolu have integrated headphone amps as well. They're not as good as proper home amps and relatively underpowered, but none are supposed to be terrible.
Beresford TC-7510 mk6: the cult grows around this unlikely unit, see the big thread in the dac forum. Precisely $199.99 shipped.
Creative E-MU 0404 USB: the poor man's presonus, I guess, though probably ten times more common on Head-fi. A flexible component. Looks like around $170 shipped.
Diyeden SVDAC04: not regarded as well as the Beresford or Zhaolu, but perhaps because not many people seem to have heard this one. There is now an 05 version. I see the 04 at pacific valve for $170 shipped.
Lite Dac-AH: It's been updated and revised since, but the classic model is at pacific valve for $191 shipped, maybe less elsewhere.
Super Pro DAC707: The new generation of the Dac-in-the-Box. I hesitate to include this one because of its low price and tiny size, but the chipset is actually quite good. Hopefully reviews will show up soon to tell us if it's really any good. I see $80 shipped for the normal version at obadimports, and $102 for the version that also has USB direct from diykits. Sascha Obad says he expects to have it in stock within the week, at which point we'll have a North American price too.
Zhaolu 2.5 (or 2.0): one of the classics among the growing batch of affordable Chinese dacs. People love to mod them. Since the 3.0 came out, these have dropped down to the sub-$200 range shipped.
Amps:
Little Dot II++: The last evolution of Little Dot's first generation tube amps. Much cheaper than its successor the MKIII, and available new for $198 shipped to the US.
Laconic Lunchbox I: Many thought it the best of the early batch of cheap tube amps, though only for use with high-impedance headphones in its stock form. Now that the II is out, the first version of the lunchbox has settled at about $150 shipped, it seems. I just bought one at that price, anyway.
Meier Audio Headfive: not quite an Arietta, but not far from it, and Head-fi boosterism to boot. Used examples finally seem to be consistently selling well below $200 shipped.
Original Master: as the Lunchbox I was best suited to less-sensitive and high impedance headphones, the Master was better for low impedance and high sensitivity. Used for well under $200 shipped.
PIMETA: The classic DIY amp designed by Tangent. These can be built with a wide range of parts quality, power supplies, and casework. A stripped-down model might run as little as $70; $200 would get you virtually every bell and whistle this design is capable of, plus a nice custom case. I'd shoot for one at around $100-150, with the upper range for units with good parts and an internal power supply, usually a TREAD.
PPA: A much more substantial DIY amp than a PIMETA, but with prices to match. Designed as a collaboration between people at Head-fi and Headwize. It seems most builds use only very good parts, which means that these tend to start at around $200, though at that price you'd be lucky to get a very common add-on, the STEPS, a DIY power supply designed by Tangent.
Less-common DIY amps: Tube/SS hybrids like the SOHA and the Millett Hybrid sometimes appear for as little as $150-200. DIY Gilmore Lites and Dynalos with lesser external power supplies sometimes go as low as $200. Odd models like the CK2III tend to sell for less than $200 unless the seller is willing to wait for a buyer who knows what they are. A full m^3 rarely goes for as little as $200. For all of these, you need to read up on the unit in question. N.B., I'm assuming for this thread that the reader will not be building his own DIY amp, which would of course impact prices.
Combos:
Presonus Central Station: perhaps the most highly-regarded piece of studio equipment on head-fi, both as a dac and especially for its amp section. I see blemished or b-stock examples selling online for $380 and $400 shipped.
