hubsand
Member of the Trade: Item Audio
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2008
- Posts
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- 11
Definitely sort the source first! The DAC question is tricky: trial and error reveals that each DAC is optimised for USB, coax or optical performance. We auditioned the DacMagic last week against my favourite cheap USB DAC - the (KingRex UD-01) - and the KingRex stomped all over it via USB. Native 24 bit audio via optical sounded great on the Cambridge - but only true 3072kbps files did the trick, and they're still in very short supply.
The cable question arises, too: there's a vast gap in price between bog standard USB cables and specialised audiophile versions . . . for a budget system, therefore, the bottleneck may the cable not the port. Whereas you can get a great optical cable (like the VdH Optocoupler) for sensible money.
On a tight budget, I don't think you can beat a good USB-optimised 16-bit DAC like the UD-01. If you're spending more, then optical + hardware upsampling (or, even better, true 24/96 source files) is the future, no question.
The cable question arises, too: there's a vast gap in price between bog standard USB cables and specialised audiophile versions . . . for a budget system, therefore, the bottleneck may the cable not the port. Whereas you can get a great optical cable (like the VdH Optocoupler) for sensible money.
On a tight budget, I don't think you can beat a good USB-optimised 16-bit DAC like the UD-01. If you're spending more, then optical + hardware upsampling (or, even better, true 24/96 source files) is the future, no question.