[Goride]

I am looking for a DAC.  Somewhere between $100-$400.  I know that is a big range, but I am trying to weight factors.
 
I used to be a big fan of Schiit, and was looking at getting a Schiit Bifrost.  I even upsold myself to a Bifrost Multibit.  However, before I ordered one, they ended up screwing me over on a warranty from another product I had purchased.  So now I do not trust Schiit as a company anymore, and would prefer not to patronize them further.
 
 
So I am looking for a DAC somewhat comparable to a Bifrost in terms of features and quality (probably not on the Multibit level though).  RCA outs, not headphones.  This will be going from my computer, to the DAC, to an amp powering speakers, and through a pass-through on that amp to a headphone amp.
 
 
I am behind the times as I haven't kept up with sound equipment the last couple years.  I will definitely be looking around the forum and internet.  But if anyone could name drop a few winners in that price range, that would really help out and save some time.

 

[sheldaze]

Before settling on Schiit DACs, I quite enjoyed:
 

1. Meridian Director: It was $700 new but you can now find it for $350.
2. Arcam irDAC: It was around the same price as the above DAC when first released. I bought mine from a store on eBay for around $400.

 
I have not heard, but would highly recommend the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 - yes, the price is listed as $499, but it will on occasion drop to $399.
 
But from what I've heard, the Bifrost 4490 has eclipsed these. I also wanted to make sure you know it is spelled Schiit.

 

[Goride]

  Before settling on Schiit DACs, I quite enjoyed:
 

1. Meridian Director: It was $700 new but you can now find it for $350.
2. Arcam irDAC: It was around the same price as the above DAC when first released. I bought mine from a store on eBay for around $400.

 
I have not heard, but would highly recommend the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 - yes, the price is listed as $499, but it will on occasion drop to $399.
 
But from what I've heard, the Bifrost 4490 has eclipsed these. I also wanted to make sure you know it is spelled Schiit.

 
Thank you for your suggestions.
 
 
(btw, I edited in the correct spelling.  It was very late, lol. )

 

[genclaymore]

The Gustard X12 is a good choice usually you can find them for 400-450 on ebay,Amazon also sells it. I know it 50 dollars over your budget but IMO it worth it. It has Usb input,Coax/Optical and I2S and for out put it has RCA and XLR. I been using it for a long time now and it been working great without issues for me. It build quality to me is really good. For it price it performs really well, I enjoy it alot more then the Bifrost uber that I had prior to to it.

 

[spaceace1014]

The Peachtree Dac-iTx is a pretty nice Dac so long as you're not using the USB input on a windows computer. I preferred it to the Bifrost Uber. It's probably not quite as good as the current Bifrost if Schiit has made any progress. It runs 300 new. 

 

[sheldaze]

I preferred the Modi 2 Uber ($149), Bifrost Uber (no longer for sale), and Meridian Director ($349) all versus the Peachtree Audio DAC iTx. The Peachtree to my ears was a cold, not very moving or musical DAC. I bought it because it was priced nicely (at the time) per the 3-digital input feature. And yes, the Bifrost 4490 ($299) is a less-expensive update, which upgrades the sound versus the previous Bifrost Uber.