Help with selecting a DAC

[Z06_Pilot]

Quote:

I've been looking for a good USB DAC for my woo amp. I listen to heavy metal and classical and my price range is $1000. I prefer the USB to iPod connection but any recommendations would be appreciated.

 
Why not the Woo WDS-1 DAC? 

 

[colinharding]

If you like the sound of your Woo that might be a good choice.  I've heard from multiple sources that the DAC is quite bright and thin, CNET being one of them (I know, far from "golden ear" review), but they generally like Woo products.  Something on the warmer, lusher side of life would be the Bel Canto 1.5e One DAC, at 1350 it is a tad out of your price range but a very nice unit.  I personally really enjoy their products and had their top-of-the line dac for quite some time.  It uses an adaptive USB interface instead of asyc but don't discount it quite yet.  Reviewed here, it is a wonderful deal at that price not to mention it comes with fixed or variable volume plus a 1/4'' out for headphone use.  So technically it could be a portable standalone DAC and heaphone amp 

 

[Rawdawg3234]

I'm pretty much sold on the stello da 100 or the shiit bifrost. ill be using the wadia 170i to bypass my iPods internal DAC.
here's the million dollar question... what is the digital output for on the wadia? can i hook a coax cable from that to my bifrost amp? i am very confused. the only other way to connect them is with an rca to coax cord and I'm using monster cables for all my connections.. Any help would be greatly appreciated... Thanks

 

[tme110]

sounds like you're still confused about what a DAC is.  You can never send any digital signal to any amp, there shouldn't even be a possible way to connect the cables.  If you bypass the iPod DAC, you still need to have a dac.  The digital output of the wadio output you asked about is so you can send it to your DAC.  It should make sense because there's obviously nothing to amplify from a digital signal since there still isn't any analog interpretation of 'sound'.