[Cheezerme]

I am currently looking for a good amp/dac in a price range preferably under 120$, I am doing this as from what I have been informed, the sound card on my
PC will be of much less quality in both the amp, and Dac department. While mobility would be a plus(and this is not the portable amp section) It is not at all required as I do not listen outside of the house much. Any help with this search would be appreciated, the only amp/dac i have been able to research is the E10, so something suggested would be preferably better than this. Thank you for your time, and apologies if I made any form of mistakes as I am quite new here. I forgot to mention that i am already listening to everything in FLAC format, and looking to in simple summary just upgrade my current audio output system, thank you!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am currently looking for a good amp/dac in a price range preferably under 120$, I am doing this as from what I have been informed, the sound card on my
PC will be of much less quality in both the amp, and Dac department. While mobility would be a plus(and this is not the portable amp section) It is not at all required as I do not listen outside of the house much. Any help with this search would be appreciated, the only amp/dac i have been able to research is the E10, so something suggested would be preferably better than this. Thank you for your time, and apologies if I made any form of mistakes as I am quite new here. I forgot to mention that i am already listening to everything in FLAC format, and looking to in simple summary just upgrade my current audio output system, thank you!

If you want an amplifier that can also be used as a portable.
Are you currently using the on-board sound or and add-on sound card? what model?
 
Get the Fiio E11 and a Asus Xonar DG for your PC computer.
Install the Xonar DG into the computer and plug the Fiio E11 into the Xonar DG.
You can take the Fiio E11 with you when your on the move.
 
 
 

 

[Cheezerme]

Sadly, I am only currently using a intergrated soundcard with no additional upgrades, thank you for the suggestion, for some reason i didn't think of that, with this buying plan, even if i upgrade it is likely i will only have wasted a small 23$, and come out with a nice portable amp. So, let me clarifiy, the E11, will go with the asus sound card right out of the box(after installation of course) and i just need a LOD for my Ipod? If so thank you for your suggestion, I appreciate the help.

Also, sorry forgot to answer this originally, the onboard is just realtek hd audio manager, which i have not heard good things about. Also, this may seem like a dumb question, but i could not find a definite answer anywhere, The battery is rechargable with the components that come with the e11, correct? I feel like i missed something obvious, but at this point im not sure.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Sadly, I am only currently using a intergrated soundcard with no additional upgrades, thank you for the suggestion, for some reason i didn't think of that, with this buying plan, even if i upgrade it is likely i will only have wasted a small 23$, and come out with a nice portable amp. So, let me clarifiy, the E11, will go with the asus sound card right out of the box(after installation of course) and i just need a LOD for my Ipod? If so thank you for your suggestion, I appreciate the help.

Also, sorry forgot to answer this originally, the onboard is just realtek hd audio manager, which i have not heard good things about. Also, this may seem like a dumb question, but i could not find a definite answer anywhere, The battery is rechargable with the components that come with the e11, correct? I feel like i missed something obvious, but at this point im not sure.

I just ordered my Fiio E11 about 14 hours ago, so i have not used one yet. But I believe it comes with a USB cable for recharging.
the Fiio L cable will connect from the line in port of the Fiio E11, to the LOD port on the iPod (and other Apple products with the LOD port).
Realtek is decent, but the Xonar DG is better.
 
 
 

 

[Cheezerme]

I think i will probably go with this setup, thank you very much sir.

 

[Cheezerme]

Any other suggestions here? I have figured out that my budget is around 150$, as the dac that i end up with will probably stay with me for more headphones. So some good amp and dac suggestions would be great.

 

[Cheezerme]

Okay, So sorry for some lack of detail earlier in this thread, Anyway, at this point, what i have read has been pointing more and more to the HRT headstreamer which has the same dac as the HRT musicstreamer, with the addition of an amp. This come to about 140$, So, while this looks to a good purchase, i am worried if i buy it I will be stuck with the amp. So, If there is not another option that is comparable, and would allow me to upgrade either the amp or dac seperately, (this is really kind of my problem with making this purchase at the moment) That would be awesome. I am looking for the amp, to make them a tad warmer, and just a solid dac. If they have to be seperate so be it, but my current concern is comparable or better performance, with the ability to be able to upgrade the amp, without having to by a new dac. Thank you very much for your time. Also, This purchase would be preferably under 160$ but a little bit over might be okay. Thanks!

 

[Cheezerme]

Bump...Been awhile since I have done one of these.

 

[Zombie_X]

You could get a combo unit. What about the Audio-GD Sparrow? I've not heard one but gear from Audio-GD in general is quite good.

 

[Cheezerme]

Aww, while that looks quit enticing, the A unit which includes the usb costs 210, which is over my budget, and i don't have the money to buy a seperate usb unit to use an optical out of. Sorry, i forgot to say, Usb is kind of a requirement. Thanks for the response though! Or, am i missing something? As it is clear the pages english isn't too great.
 

 

[Zombie_X]

Hrm...
 
What about the Headroom Total BitHead? It's $150 and has USB input. It also has more than enough power to drive the headphone. And so you know they really don't need an amp to shine. They require very little power to operate properly.
 
I owned the Total AirHead in the past and it's quite powerful for what it is. The Total BitHead uses the same amp section plus has the built in USB DAC.
 
Quote:

Aww, while that looks quit enticing, the A unit which includes the usb costs 210, which is over my budget, and i don't have the money to buy a seperate usb unit to use an optical out of. Sorry, i forgot to say, Usb is kind of a requirement. Thanks for the response though!
 

 

 

[Cheezerme]

If i recall I have not seen some exactly favorable reviews for that, I must reclarifiy(as i have mistakenly not). Portability is of no concern, and I would greatly prefer a dac/amp that did not require me to use any form of batteries with. I really appreciate the suggestions right now though! Also, as i am not particularily familiar, what kind of difference is there between 16/48 and 24/48? Thanks.

 

[Zombie_X]

You do not need batteries if you use the USB cable as it powers the unit itself. 
 
If you can find a used EF2 amp then that maybe a good choice as well. They are $200 new but are quite nice, though I don't know how you feel about tubes. It's a tube amp with USB input. It's also high current so it can drive low impedance loads really well.

 

[Cheezerme]

Okay, i'd been eyeing that one, Is there a large difference betweeen 16 bit and 24 bit? I'm asking because if i recall that is a 16bit dac correct?

 

[Zombie_X]

Yes it's 16bit, and no there is no difference from 16bit or 24bit. They both sound the same.