[DarkScythe]

Hey guys,
 
A friend of mine is getting a pair of upcoming Focal speakers, which seem to be a 2.0 system.
He's looking for a good soundcard to complement it with, and he says he doesn't really use headphones.
His budget is about $150, maybe $200 max.
 
Judging by these needs, I figured a good quality headphone amp probably isn't required, nor are any recording inputs.
I originally suggested the Asus Xonar and Auzentech lines, but I'm also thinking some low-cost external DACs would also suit his purpose just fine.
Unfortunately, I have no idea what's available, since I settled on what I have and I've stopped thinking about it.
 
I know of the NuForce uDAC, Musiland Monitor, and of course my Audiofire.
However... that's about it.
 
Are there any other good options for him at this price point that would power a simple 2.0 system?
He doesn't need any crazy surround sound/7.1 capable stuff, and driver stability is also a requirement.
 
Thanks!

 

[DarkScythe]

Bump..Anyone?
 
 
 

 

[mark2410]

are you looking for an amp?

 

[Vitor Machado]

Can you be a bit more specific with the speakers model?
 
Assuming the speakers are active (have built-in amp), all you need is a DAC. In which case I say get a UCA202 like I did, it's cheap and pretty good.
It's not a very good headphone amplifier (will not work well with low impedance cans), but since he doesn't need one, it doesn't matter.
 
You probably can't get anything better in the sub $100 range.

 

[JRG1990]

HRT music streamer ii .

 

[sizzlincok]

I say take a look in the BST section for DAC's. There are so many being sold, and many are good DACs at VERY affordable prices from other members.
 
I'm so tempted to buy everything. LOL

 

[Somnambulist]

I presume he's getting one of the  Focal CMS series, which are their prosumer 2.0 active monitors (the Solo 6 and Twins are a little bit pricier). I'm getting them as well, eventually. I currently have a Yulong D100 DAC, which I'll hook up to the Focals by the balanced XLR outputs (the Focals have both XLR and RCA inputs). New, it's well out of your budget range, but it's possible you might be able to get a used one for a bit less (I got mine via the classifieds on here).

 

[DarkScythe]

Hey guys,
 
Sorry for the delay. I was out for the weekend at an event, and just got back.
 
To respond to everyone:
 
mark2410: Nope, not looking for an amp, just a DAC to feed into the speakers.
Vitor Machado: He's looking to get the new Focal XS Book speakers which were shown at Macworld/CES. (He runs Windows 7 though.) The link he provided to me was this: http://www.macworld.com/article/157022/2011/01/macworld_at_ces_2.html
As far as I can tell, they are an active/self-powered pair of 2.0 speakers.
sizzlincok & Somnambulist: He says he doesn't mind used, as long as it works, so that may be helpful.
 
In either case, I don't know how good the Focal speakers are, so I can't tell if they need a top of the line DAC, or a decent midrange one.
 
If there's any other info needed, just let me know. Otherwise, I'll check out some of the suggestions for now; but keep them coming.
 
Thanks!

 

[Somnambulist]

The CMS series are awesome (award winning) monitors, given their price. If you go on GearSlutz you'll see they're very highly regarded and considered among the best in the <£1000 range, often punching above their weight. They're not fatiguing in the highs, have a stellar midrange, reasonably wide sweet spot, front ported, EQ options on the back to help deal with desk reflections etc, tight accurate bass... I loved them when I auditioned them. They weren't as good as the Focal Twins, but then a single Twin costs more than a set of CMS 50s, so it's no surprise!
 
I have no idea what those XS Book ones sound like, but I'd imagine they'll be pretty good for the price, as Focal make great speakers. I would say given their price though, that you won't need anything too fancy, so my D100 recommendation is probably overkill.

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

HRT music streamer ii .

x2, or get the high end Asus soundcard. 
 

 

[DarkScythe]

Hey guys,
 
Just an update; He decided to get a pair of Focal XS 2.1's since he found a deal he couldn't pass up.
I'm not sure if that would change any of the suggestions made so far, but he's still looking into all of them.