[chinesekiwi]

so any suggestions out there to tempt my fancy?

I prefer it to be a 'real' as possible: i.e. as much detail and transparency as possible. e.g. If the recording is crap, then it should sound crap without the DAC making it 'more musical' etc...

Space is a non-issue. Used/New? non-issue. I really don't care if I'm say using a DVD player purely as a DAC so long as it's the best sounding in the price range. I've looked hard and long at some Rotel CD players for example.
I feel my Musiland is the weakest point of my setup atm.

One thing it must have however is coax or optical in as I plan to optical out from an Creative X-fi for gaming reasons. I already have a rather decent headphone amp so amping is a non-issue as well.

Suggestions? Any other info that could prove useful that I haven't stated?
Suggestions can be anything, DVD players, Blu-ray players, dedicated audio stuff, doesn't matter as long as it meets these requirements.
I'm in no hurry to buy it but rather want suggestions so I can investigate in my own time.

List of things I am not interested in:

DacMagic
Nuforce HDP
All the lower Audio-GD products
Musiland MD10
Yulong DH10

 

[Lil' Knight]

For under $500, the only 2 DACs I have in mind are the DacMagic and Gamma-2.

 

[noinimod]

audio gd dac 19 df

 

[chinesekiwi]

as I said, not interested in DacMagic. I know that this being an audio forum, that the bias in recommendations will come from dedicated audio products, but I am willing to investigate other A/V products as well and purely using them as DACs.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Ah, didn't see that. You won't go wrong with the Gamma-2 then. I much prefer it than my Benchmark DAC-1.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Anyone compared CD and DVD players to anything popular products on here?
I strongly know about the 'hype', 'FOTM', whatever you call it and the flaws of Head-fi so I do tread carefully and always investigate for myself but of course would like suggestions in case there are others that I haven't considered. (choices = >.<)

 

[kostalex]

What is wrong with HDP?

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kostalex /img/forum/go_quote.gif What is wrong with HDP?

Mainly cuz I have an amp already that's better than the HDP's and that I've read that the DAC-19 for example would be better purely used as a DAC vs. the HDP purely used as a DAC.

 

[kunalraiker]

DAC-19 DSP push the budget a little

 

[GreyArea]

Little Dot DAC I


Also, you could follow this thread:

12-dacs-observations-impressions-5-amps-5-headphones-under-construction-good-times-ahead

 

[paaj]

CI Audio VDA2 used, preferably with the VAC1 power supply.

 

[tim3320070]

I went from the MD10 to the V-DAC to the AGD Ref-1. V-DAC was smoother (less digital than MD10). Ref-1 was a huge improvement so I would think the DAC19 would be a major leap as well.

 

[jc9394]

Gamma2, I don't think you can find a better DAC for less than $1000. The only draw back is it does not have balanced out.

 

[ulyses]

Why all good stuffs are only diy and almost impossible to purchase.

 

[K3cT]

I'm still amazed on how small and how epic-sounding the Gamma2 is. It has a very nice color to its sound: not too neutral, not too forward, plenty of details, rich midrange and presence. I'm very satisfied with mine and will stick it it until the need arises for a balanced DAC, if it ever occurs.