[WarpedMonkey]

Hi,
 
My laptop sound card just blew up so I thought it would be a great time to jump into the DAC/Amp boat. I did a lot of research and came up with the Fiio E17 as my top choice for price/quality. My only problem is I don't find any USB DAC/Amp that has microphone input (don't need a battery in the DAC/amp). Does it exist and I just missed it?
 
Thanks in advance

 

[WarpedMonkey]

I would totally accept a no

 

[MrScratch]

ANY external audio interface with a good mic-pre will suffice. Google is with you!
If I remember correctly, the Apogee Duet 2 sports a good DAC chip and offers a nice mic-pre. However, the Duet 2 is advertised as an audio interface that works exclusively with Macs and I don't know if there are any drivers out there to make it work propely on a PC.

If you have a PC, the RME Babyface should do the trick. I've read *somewhere* the Babyface is a Duet 2 equivalent for PCs (take it with a HUGE grain of salt).