[kchow15]

Hello,
 
Since this is my first post and the first message I got was to post here, I decided to ask for some advice on the first DAC I should purchase.  I have been reading the forums and I have narrowed them down to my rankings:

1. Audioengine D1
2. Maverick Audio Tubemagic D1
3. Fiio E7K 
4. Fiio E17
5. HRT Headstreamer Mobile

 
I have AudioTechnica ATH-M50's, Soul SL300's (a gift, don't ask...lol), and Shure SE215's.  Looking at other headphones at a later date.  As for portable AMP's, I have a FiiO E11.  I have been looking at the Electric Avenues PA2V2 as well.  I have read the forums and seems like people lean towards the Audioengine D1's and Fiio E7K.  Any thoughts and/or feedback will be much appreciated for a audio noob.  Thanks in advance!
 
Kelvin

 

[BestEarCN]

I am picking from one of them too, I heard audioengine has the best sound around those, E7K is the worst, Maverick I can't find on amazon so I would ignore that one, E17 has a good price about $50 less than audioengine, but I am not sure about the sound, headstreamer mobile's sound is unknown too, I am still looking for information, you made up your mind yet?

 

[autoteleology]

http://www.headfonia.com/the-upgrade-fiio-e17-alpen/

This has all the answers you need.

 

[i019791]

Quote:

http://www.headfonia.com/the-upgrade-fiio-e17-alpen/

This has all the answers you need.

But for anyone trusting headfonia and not needing 96 khz:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/topping-d1-mark-ii/

 

[kchow15]

What's up!  Yep, I went with the Audioengine.  I have been burning it in.  But so far the sound is pretty amazing to me.  The bass is much crisper and not as muddy as before.  It sounds clearer too.  I am by no means an audiophile, but the music just seems tighter and clearer.  I have been hearing stuff I have never heard before.  Pretty exciting actually, especially since this is my first DAC.  

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

What's up!  Yep, I went with the Audioengine.  I have been burning it in.  But so far the sound is pretty amazing to me.  The bass is much crisper and not as muddy as before.  It sounds clearer too.  I am by no means an audiophile, but the music just seems tighter and clearer.  I have been hearing stuff I have never heard before.  Pretty exciting actually, especially since this is my first DAC.  

As I'm assuming your using the AudioEngine D1 with a Windows PC.
If you use the optical connection, you can still use the features of your motherboard's built in audio.
 
The USB connection bypasses the built in audio features, which is not really a problem if all your doing is 2-channel music audio, or gaming and watching movies in 2-channel.

 

[cel4145]

I am picking from one of them too, I heard audioengine has the best sound around those, E7K is the worst, Maverick I can't find on amazon so I would ignore that one, E17 has a good price about $50 less than audioengine, but I am not sure about the sound, headstreamer mobile's sound is unknown too, I am still looking for information, you made up your mind yet?

The E17 is a great value at only $100 on Amazon. You get portability and great sound. However, I would not recommend the E17 if you primarily want to use headphones AND speakers on a computer. You can get an adapter so you can have both plugged, but then you have a cable coming out the side at the bottom, and out the top on the opposite side. Makes it very awkward to position and use. Plus, I believe the E17's line level out is just that. No pre-amp/volume capability. So you have to leave your computer turned up with headphones and use the E17 to adjust the volume, and control the volume with your computer for speakers. It's just a really awkward setup to use with speakers and headphones.