[Steph86]

Hi im new to amps and was wondering if someone could give me some advice.

Im going to be buying a pair AKG701 and I am going to be needing an amp and DAC with them.

I have got a budget of about £400($800) for the two.

I have been thinking about either the Darkvoice 336se or 332 (i don't know the difference between the two why has one got 4 tubes and the other only 2) vs LittleDot MK IV. Are there any others that I should consider?

As for a DAC I don't have a clue, whether I should get an external one or an internal one for my pc. I am happy to do some mods to get the best sound. I will be using my computer as my main source.

I don't mind how the £400 is split to buy the amp and DAC.

Any help and advice would be most helpfull.

Thanks
Steph

 

[Steph86]

?

 

[breakfastchef]

I am happy with Little Dot performance and craftsmanship; a very good value. Penchum's review is really postive about the MKIV.

You can choose to go with a USB/DAC or invest in a sound card with optical or coax digital outputs and get a DAC with appropriate inputs. I chose to go with a portable USB DAC/Amp for the versatility. If you plan to only use the DAC on a desktop PC, you would probably want to go with a dedicated desktop DAC unit. There are many good DACs to choose from in your budget range. I own a Beresford TC-7510 (2 optical/2 coax inputs). If my budget was larger I might have looked more closely at brands like Keces, CityPulse, Lite Audio DAC modified, Musiland or Zhaolu.

 

[Steph86]

Thanks for your reply breakfastchef, which out of the above DAC's that you mentioned offers the best sound.
And one more question, how do i go about connecting the dac to the tube amp? sorry for the noob question!

 

[mybeat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steph86 /img/forum/go_quote.gif And one more question, how do i go about connecting the dac to the tube amp? sorry for the noob question!

You'll need 2x rca male to male cables
might look simmilar to this

 

[Steph86]

Thanks my beat

 

[Steph86]

Say if i were to go for a Zhaolu DAC what is the best way of me to connect to my pc to get the best sound? I can't seem to see a USB connection on the back of this DAC. Also, I don't want to use the amp section of the Zhaolu just the DAC as i want to use a tube amp is this possible? because i currently use a CORDA Move and Foobar where I am able to select the DAC as the output, is this possible with the Zhaolu?

Thanks
Steph

 

[Golden Monkey]

You'll need a DAC with USB outs, like the Keces DA-151. Great DAC, by the way...