USB DAC up to $1000

[leeperry]

 

Quote:

 It also cuts the other way though, a great DAC with the PCM2704 USB chip (and there are a lot more of these than there are Asynch DACs, good or otherwise) is a bad USB DAC.

I agree. PCM2704 has his own specific (and awuful) sound signature as usb-to-analog as well as usb-to-spdif converter.

Oh yes, let 2704 die already.
 
VIA have a brand new chip, might be worth looking into: http://www.slashgear.com/via-vinyl-envy-vt1730-usb-2-0-audio-controller-drips-connectivity-1469812/

 

[brat]

No, of course it's not the absolute limit but I don't want to spend much more (ok, let's mark $1200 as the absolute limit and it's only for some masterpiece of this industry

) . And I prefer to be in one box. I already have an excellent two-box solution: a phenomenal DIY usb-to-spdif converter + my Cary 306 as a DAC. Now I need a dac for travelling.

brat: Would you consider more than a 1-box solution, that is, a USB to coax converter, then a DAC? It would widen your choices considerably. Is $1000 your absolute limit?

 

[Currawong]

For travelling?

 

[crumpler]

Love my HRT Streamer Pro! Fantastic compact size with asynchronous USB built-in. Uses native drivers and does plug and play pretty much off any OS.

 

[vert]

Quote:

Do you own or have you ever owned one?

 
No, I haven't owned the Rega DAC, as the commission on it is too low for my dealer to carry.
 
I do have an ISIS though. 

 
I'll do a write up on spinning discs vs. USB. But Rega digital does have a more of a vinyl, analog sound.