Noob needs help with DAC...

[Mng1985]

Hello everyone, I have been reading the forum for a few weeks now and finally decided to sign up and start posting. I recently purchased some audioengine A5s to start putting together a respectable computer audio setup. I am now looking for a good DAC in the $100 to $200 range to go between my MacBook and the speakers but I do not know much about them. I have heard good things about the ibasso, total bithead and zero. A built in headphone amp and portability would be nice but are not a must. However, I would prefer that the DAC has a line out as opposed to using a headphone that sends the signal through the headphone amps volume circuitry. I say this because I assume a line out would provide a cleaner signal, correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks in advance for the help and sorry of this is 100th time you have seen a post like this...

 

[Brandon B]

You're correct that a line out will generally sound better than a headphone out if you're connecting the DAC to a receiever or amplifier. In your price range, I would recommend the following:

Lite DAC-AH: You can read about this one here: LiTe DAC-AH DAC [English] This one doesn't have an integrated headamp, and it's moddable if you want to put a little more money into it in the future. I think these go for $200 or maybe a little less.

Zero DAC
Used Zhalou DAC (Lots of threads about Zhalous on here)
Firestone Fubar II USB Dac (Looks nice and only costs $140)
Silverstone EB01 DAC (Only costs $100.. good article here: Silverstone Ensemble EB01 USB Dac Review at OnHeadphones.com)

You might be able to find a used MHDT Labs Constantine on here or audiogon for the money you're looking to spend.. I've heard a lot of good things about that DAC.

What kind of headphones do you have, and do you have a headphone amplifier? If you're headphones have a high impedance and require a lot of power, I would highly recommend you pick a DAC with an integrated amp like the Zero. If you're plugging it into a receiver, it might not sound as good as using the headphone out of a DAC that includes one. It depends on the receiver though..

Good luck with your DAC search, I hope I was somewhat helpful..

 

[Mng1985]

I appreciate your help Brandon B. I am mostly going to be using the DAC for a set of audioengine A5 active speakers, however I also have a set of Etymotic Hf2 headphones but these are rather low impedance because they are optimized to work with an iPhone. Therefore, I am mostly just looking for the ability to use the line out on the DAC and bypass the headphone amp circuitry. I don't know much about the Silverstone EB01, i will look into that. At $100 though, do you think it would be significantly better than the analog signal coming out of my macbook?

 

[Pariah1]

I too am wary of the Slilverstone because of the price. It seems too cheap to be good, but it got a couple good reviews. However there's not much that I can find about it on here which makes me think it's not all that great because other amps like the Fubar II and SuperPro 707 USB which are close in price are discussed and recommended all over the board. Simplistic I know, but enough to make me uneasy. I like the way the EB01 looks though, and here's a great review of it:

SilverStone Ensemble EB01 & EB02 Audio System Review - Hardware Canucks

Seems perhaps worth a try for $90, but then maybe a waste if for around $120 to $140 you could get the other 2 I mentioned which could be much better.

 

[paaj]

e-mu 0404usb is generally regarded as a good DAC in this price-range. It has RCA out for use with a separate amp and also offers a somewhat decent head-phone output. It is at the end of your budget though, but maybe used?

 

[m001]

You might consider the Pro-ject USB DAC. It's right in the middle of your price range.

 

[mrarroyo]

I had a Lite Dac Ah that I tweaked with the passive mod. it was a very organic and vinyl sounding dac. It had a high level of involvement although the high frequency was a bit rolled off. Overall a very enjoyable unit that if purchased used can be had for under $165 including the passive mod.

Under $200 I also liked the Beresford 7510 MK 6.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

My bet is that DACs are the hi-fi gear of 2009. One of the hifi audio stores nearby shook their heads when I said so in august last year, having no dacs at all to sell, and now they have several. (Because what's the thing that most people don't have, who bought their stereo equipment years ago...)

Regarding the MacBook, do check what you think of it going macbook->amp->cans, compared with macbook->external dac->amp->cans. The Macbook headphone out is a bit weak, but that isn't the same thing as the dac being bad.

 

[atomiccow]

Theres the Moodlab DACs that some people are talking about. They certainly complement the Macbook in terms of style.