Portable vs Desktop DACs

[Alesemml]

Are portable DACs ok to use with an amp? Or are they optimised to be used for headphones only?
I want this setup: laptop/chromebook->DAC->amp->speakers. I rarely listen with headphones. As it seems to me the affordable portable DACs like the Chord Mojo or the Audioquest Dragonfly 1.2 are good enough for me. Does it make sense to use them in this set-up? If not, what then? Modi 2 Uber? 
Sorry if this is posted somewhere already, I could not find it. Thanks.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

You only have to note a couple of things. First, portable DACs might spit out a line out with a voltage closer to an iPod lineout than a DAC that uses wall power, so your amp has to be set louder and therefore the theoretically lower noise floor of running a DAC with a battery might be offset if your amp has a low SNR or by that point, high enough THD. The second would be that some portable DACs might have lower channel separation than their desktop counterparts.

 

Other than that, or actually even despite those, there's really nothing to stop you from using a portable DAC you already have, and better yet, if you use it as a portable DAC-HPamp with a headphone elsewhere then might as well use it as a DAC for your primary system.

 

[JoeDoe]

 

You only have to note a couple of things. First, portable DACs might spit out a line out with a voltage closer to an iPod lineout than a DAC that uses wall power, so your amp has to be set louder and therefore the theoretically lower noise floor of running a DAC with a battery might be offset if your amp has a low SNR or by that point, high enough THD. The second would be that some portable DACs might have lower channel separation than their desktop counterparts.

 

Other than that, or actually even despite those, there's really nothing to stop you from using a portable DAC you already have, and better yet, if you use it as a portable DAC-HPamp with a headphone elsewhere then might as well use it as a DAC for your primary system.

Um... what he said!

 

[Alesemml]

Thanks a lot. As I do not have a DAC yet, and following your advice, I will go for a desktop DAC. Modi 2 Uber? Any other desktop on your radar in the same price category?

 

[PinkyPowers]

Can't go wrong with Schiit.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Thanks a lot. As I do not have a DAC yet, and following your advice, I will go for a desktop DAC. Modi 2 Uber? Any other desktop on your radar in the same price category?

 
Nothing in that price range really, the ODAC2 is around $170 and that's the only other alternative. For portables there are a few, like the D-Zero MkII, but if you don't need the portable DAC-HPamp function then don't fuss with anything with a battery. I have the MkI and lug it around with my computer, and a DAC at home, but if I didn't need it for the first (and mostly just for a cleaner signal to my sensitive IEMs, not really for the power; and also a handy volume slider), I'd use a desktop DAC too.
 
Note though that the Modi2 AFAIK is USB-powered - although it does output 2volts, the Uber version works with Android and iOS devices since it has its own power supply. If that isn't important and neither are the SPDIF inputs, go with the base version.