Need a good affordable DAC

[rosie]

Second post here.I am looking to buy a good dac which will last me a long time to come,it should have inputs for at least 2 sources:1.A good,cheap cd transport
2.A digital output from a soundcard for when I want to use the computer as a .flac files jukebox.
I was thinking of buying a PHilips 963SA universal player and have it modded at SACDMODS,but I think a good DAC better than the one in the PHILIPS and a cheap transport would be less costly.Any suggestions on a good DAC for 500-600us$?

 

[saint.panda]

Ack Dack. There are many supporters of this dac and I was heavily considering getting this one myself. It has received rave reviews on AudioCircle.com and some very reputable members here have written favourable things about this Dac. It costs 525$ new.

Edit: here's the link to manufacturer

 

[rosie]

I was thinking on getting a chaintech av-710 to use it for the digital outputs,but I wonder if it is any better than my onboard Nvidia nforce2 soundchip(no digital out option),the DAC will be the next purchase,and then the cd transport.If the sound of the Chaintech proves superior to what I have now it will be a bonus and make the wait for the DAC less painful.

 

[saint.panda]

There's just no comparison between my Chaintech AV-710 and my Nforce onboard sound chip. Two different worlds. Definately get the Chaintech. The Chaintech has been my best audio-price-performance buy ever.

 

[rosie]

Thank you for the suggestions Panda.Any ideas for players as transports?I know PIONEER has a good reputation for transports,SONY also.What if I want sacd also?Then the DAC will only be good for red book cd's right?

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosie Thank you for the suggestions Panda.Any ideas for players as transports?I know PIONEER has a good reputation for transports,SONY also.What if I want sacd also?Then the DAC will only be good for red book cd's right?

rosie, you're right, the Ack Dack only takes redbook audio and only in 16/44 (meaning it won't accept an upsampled signal). I'm sure there are many good transports. If you want something versatile: The Philips 963sa for around 200$ used is a pretty good player on its own and supposed to be a pretty good transport as well. And you get to play a little with its SACD capabilities. (And of course, you'll have a DVD player, too).
There have been mixed reports whether the Ack Dack is sensitive to different transports. Some say yes, some say a little and some say no difference at all.
If your budget is a bit tigher you might also consider the Tubedac or Tubedac+. The normal Tubedac can also be bought as a kit for self-assembling. Here's a link
And here's a link to a Tubedac vs. Ack Dack comparison on audiocircle

 

[ooheadsoo]

Funny, I barely hear a difference between my nvidia soundstorm and my emu, not to mention my soundstorm and revo. I hope this diy dac I'm getting is worth it...The price will fall in under the ackdack.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo Funny, I barely hear a difference between my nvidia soundstorm and my emu, not to mention my soundstorm and revo. I hope this diy dac I'm getting is worth it...The price will fall in under the ackdack.

Battery powered source should relieve the need for a good power conditioner. That's one way it could still be beneficial.

If you can't hear the difference between your soundstorm and revo compared to your emu, something in your system is holding you back.