[mrip541]

I'm looking for a balanced dac for under $500. I'm experimenting with a fully balanced system. I've found a few options:

Emotiva XDA-2
Musical Fidelity M1 DAC
TEAC UD-301
Topping DX7

What am I missing? I'd prefer one without a headphone amp or preamp capability, which I won't be using. Bonus points for finding one that isn't reported to have aggressive treble.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm looking for a balanced dac for under $500.

http://www.matrix-digi.com/en/products/122/index.html

There's also that other brand that makes DACs that look like Toblerone bars in red and blue colors, with a Pro version using XLR for around $299. I'll try to remember what the brand is.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Found it - HRT. They phased out the old Toblerone-shaped lines and replaced the Streamer Pro with the StreamerHD.

http://www.hirestech.com/product/?pid=116#

 

[gr8soundz]

Found it - HRT. They phased out the old Toblerone-shaped lines and replaced the Streamer Pro with the StreamerHD.

Streamer HD was 1st thing I thought of after reading what the OP was looking for. I tried the HRT a few years ago after searching for similarly streamlined, balanced DAC. Mine had some hardware/firmware issues which I posted about here:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/☯️-...599-cavalli-amp.761088/page-146#post-11764271

Only balanced (capable) DAC in my collection right now is the Roland Mobile UA. Prices are back to $200-300 but I'm still impressed with the size/price/performance ratio.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/roland-mobile-ua-ua-m10-usb-audio-interface.22058/reviews

 

[buke9]

I'm looking for a balanced dac for under $500. I'm experimenting with a fully balanced system. I've found a few options:

Emotiva XDA-2
Musical Fidelity M1 DAC
TEAC UD-301
Topping DX7

What am I missing? I'd prefer one without a headphone amp or preamp capability, which I won't be using. Bonus points for finding one that isn't reported to have aggressive treble.

I would take the Teac off the list. I thought my QP1R sounded much better and single ended when driving a amp. The amp on it is very warm and not very powerful. The other thing is you will need a pre amp as if it doesn’t have a output how will you listen to it?