[1Time]

I have owned the following HotAudio products: HotUSB1, DAC Destroyer, Bit Perfect, and Mark IV, the last 3 at the same time.

The HotUSB1 that I owned had the PCM2704 DAC. Nice clear sound with a touch of reverb character to it, which I liked. I enjoyed it most with my JBL 410 Reference headphones. IMO it had enough power to adequately drive efficient 32 Ohm headphones.

The other 3 DACs use the PCM2705 DAC (as does the current HotUSB1), which have a warmer sound and without the reverb character of the previous HotUSB1. The DAC Destroyer has the same power as the HotUSB1. The Mark IV and Bit Perfect are equal in power and are more powerful due to their buffered output stage. The Mark IV is essentially the Bit Perfect without the potentiometer.

I sold my DAC straight (correction: Bit Perfect) because it wasn't as powerful as the other two DACs. I didn't notice much difference between the Mark IV and Bit Perfect, and so I sold the Bit Perfect mostly because I didn't need the potentiometer to control the volume.

I compared these 3 DACs mainly with a modified Creative Aurvana Live! (CAL!).

I recommend any one of these HotAudio DACs.

How does your HotAudio DAC compare?

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Time /img/forum/go_quote.gif I sold my DAC straight because it wasn't as powerful as the other two DACs.

What do you mean by that? The straight doesnt have a headphone jack so how did you compare the being less powerful?

 

[1Time]

...

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif What do you mean by that? The straight doesnt have a headphone jack so how did you compare the being less powerful?

Edit:
I will get it right. I meant the Bit Perfect. I never owned the DAC Straight. Thanks for the correction.

Technically the Bit Perfect has the same power as the Mark IV, but I preferred the punch in the bass of the Mark IV, and so to me it seamed more powerful.

 

[donunus]

Ok thanks

 

[Drubbing]

Well, I owned the Hot USB, and when I got a decent DAC, it didn't compare at all.

Sure, the Corda 3 move, and then the DACmagic I got are in different price ranges, but really, what should you realistically expect from a $60 DAC like the Hot Audio. It's basic.

I can only recommend them if your onboard is dodgy - as they are a cheap fix for noise and interference. Beyond that, they're pretty ordinary.

 

[rayk]

Drubbing is spot on.

The hotaudio I tried was quite minimal improvement over onboard, found the Prodigy Cube to be a bit better then it (plus it actually has a volume knob and a 1/4" jack).

You get what you pay for.

 

[ksu06]

Agreed with the above, for similar or even less money, the Gamma1 blew my DAC Straight out of the water ... maybe HotAudio should move away from the PCM270x chips and try something new.

 

[clams]

Just upgraded from Hotaudio destroyer to the Audinst HUD-MX1 and the improvement is pretty noticeable. Good portable DAC for laptops though. Still better than my Macbook Pro headphone out.

 

[Dalamar]

To compare them, find RMAA charts. Subjective tests/opinions are utterly nonsense.
 
Many of the DACs people spend big bucks on *suck* when compared to much cheaper solutions.

 

[Drubbing]

 
Quote:

To compare them, find RMAA charts. Subjective tests/opinions are utterly nonsense.
 
Many of the DACs people spend big bucks on *suck* when compared to much cheaper solutions.

No - testing is utter nonsense. No one uses numbers to override what their ears tell them. If them do, they are dumb as a stick. Not only that, your generalistion about *many* DACs being sucky is just that, and is the same subjectivity/opinion you've applied to your opposite argument. 
 
Sure, really expensive DAC can be poor value for money. That's part of diminishing returns at the higher end, and being unaware of which products or brands tend to just be poor value for money to begin with.

 

[Dalamar]

It's not a generalization, DACs are quite transparent unlike your endpoint. People are spending large amounts of money where it's least likely to have an effect. If you spent $1000++ getting some flat-response, low-distortion headphones or speakers, then you can worry about your DAC. And in the latter case, measurements are still the most important. Else you'll end up with colored gear, and colored is not hi-hi: hi-fi reproduces exactly what's on the recording.
 
DACs have minimal distortions, relatively flat response for ages now, can't say the same for endpoints at all.

 

[Drubbing]

 
Quote:

It's not a generalization, DACs are quite transparent unlike your endpoint. People are spending large amounts of money where it's least likely to have an effect. If you spent $1000++ getting some flat-response, low-distortion headphones or speakers, then you can worry about your DAC. And in the latter case, measurements are still the most important. Else you'll end up with colored gear, and colored is not hi-hi: hi-fi reproduces exactly what's on the recording.
 
DACs have minimal distortions, relatively flat response for ages now, can't say the same for endpoints at all.

My endpoint is trusting my ears to like or not like what they hear - not discern the ultimate transparency from the stuff I audition/listen to. In fact, I find high end phones aren't to my tastes anyway. 
 
At $1000+ you're talking about entering the high end territory, considering the gear that would be intended for pairing with such a DAC. Measurements are more likely to be of interest to those like yourself who are matching components carefully, as part of a hobby. You are in fact, agreeing with part of my argument that says diminishing returns kicks in at that sort of level, and if you need to measure differences rather than hear them, I ask what the point of that is?
 
This thread was concerning a pretty basic range of DAC products that sell at at entry level. Measurements are pointless in the context of this thread, and useless to the people interested in this level of products, and it's in that context that I gave my opinion.