Not sure if I need to replace my current DAC

[skhan007]

Hello All- Thinking about purchasing a tube headphone amp and I'm currently using an old Apogee Duet as a DAC with ALAC/FLAC flies on my MacBook Pro. and Sony MDR headphones. I was curious (because I really don't know the subject matter that well) if my DAC is outdated and likely, there are better alternatives for me to consider at this juncture? The Apogee Duet has been part of a musical instrument recording set up for home studio use and I happen to also use it for listening to music.

Since I'm now at a point where I'm looking at purchasing my first proper tube headphone amp, I was curious if my current DAC isn't up to par and I should invest in something current/modern. Thoughts?

 

[acguitar84]

I haven't heard the Apogee DAC, but I have been currently enjoying my RME ADI 2 DAC. Both on speakers and headphones! It's worth looking into!

 

[skhan007]

I haven't heard the Apogee DAC, but I have been currently enjoying my RME ADI 2 DAC. Both on speakers and headphones! It's worth looking into!

Just looked up that unit- Wow, that looks like an incredibly nice piece of gear!

 

[acguitar84]

If you go to the site - the master switch and see their dac recommendations for 2021 it's first on their list. It's also a helpful read. There's a dedicated RME Dac thread right here on headfi as well, that's a good thread to read through.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rme-adi-2-dac-thread.868015/

I also have an yggdrasil, but I've found I've been enjoying the RME more lately. ymmv as always. Good luck on the search.

 

[skhan007]

If you go to the site - the master switch and see their dac recommendations for 2021 it's first on their list. It's also a helpful read. There's a dedicated RME Dac thread right here on headfi as well, that's a good thread to read through.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rme-adi-2-dac-thread.868015/

I also have an yggdrasil, but I've found I've been enjoying the RME more lately. ymmv as always. Good luck on the search.

Thanks- this is making me rethink if I really want a tube amp, given how sophisticated the RME looks.

 

[skhan007]

I'm researching and learning and what I've found is my current DAC, which is quite old, is a max sample rate 96kHz/24 bit. If I want to get into Hi-Res music, this is apparently kind of average. For example, I just looked up one of my favorite RUSH albums and noted it's available at 192kHz/24 bit for purchase. Not knowing any better, I would hope my ears can hear the difference, but clearly my Apogee Duet couldn't be up for that sample rate.

I also inquired with Woo Audio, as I heard the WA7 Fireflies a while back in-person and loved it. The stock DAC that comes with that unit is 384kHz/24 bit. I would imagine these specs make for a far superior DAC. Is that how we evaluate DACs; on their specs, right?