[Frank I]

I have a marantz DV6001 Universal player as my main source which has a coaxial output. I use both the Matrix M Stage and Little Dot MK11 to drive my AKG 7001. I am wondering what DAC to consider and not spend a fortune. Suggestions appreciated.

 

[eucariote]

^ could you be more specific about your budget?

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucariote /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ could you be more specific about your budget?

150-250 range

 

[audiofil]

Given the low budget I'd suggest investigating SH options.

Musical Fidelity V-DAC would be a solid choice for your budget

 

[minimus]

If you are using the Marantz as your main source, I would sell it and your current DAC and go for a good "giant killer" dedicated CD player, like the Sony XA5400ES or the Oppo BDP-83 SE. Unless you have multiple digital sources, mid-fi DACs just don't sound as good as dedicated sources in my experience.

 

[etiolate]

Quote:

If you are using the Marantz as your main source, I would sell it and your current DAC and go for a good "giant killer" dedicated CD player, like the Sony XA5400ES or the Oppo BDP-83 SE. Unless you have multiple digital sources, mid-fi DACs just don't sound as good as dedicated sources in my experience.

x2.  Either this or just use your marantz's dac... it has a 24bit/96kHz dac built in.  you don't always have to use an external dac.  i'm not sure why so many people are convinced of this...
 
 
Quote:

 
http://us.marantz.com/Products/2047.asp

freq. Response (Digital Audio) S/N Ratio Dynamic Range THD (1 kHz)

4Hz-44kHz (DVD fs: 96kHz) 110dB 100dB 0.0030%

 

[aristos_achaion]

x2.  Either this or just use your marantz's dac... it has a 24bit/96kHz dac built in.  you don't always have to use an external dac.  i'm not sure why so many people are convinced of this...
 
 

You don't *have* to have an external DAC, but having one would allow him to upgrade his source without spending extra money on the CD-player bits (which probably don't need upgrading), and would give him extra flexibility with his digital source (he could also hook his DAC up to a computer, a Blu-ray player, laptop, &c, &c, as the spirit moves him, without having to spend a lot of money upgrading each to a model with a good DAC). Maybe he just wants a source upgrade.
 
That being said...+1 for the V-DAC. I've got one, and it's a wonderful piece of equipment. Great sound, right price, and plenty of inputs (USB, Toslink, and coax). I kinda wish it had an on/off switch (you have to plug & unplug it to turn it on/off), but for such a nice DAC, I can hardly complain. (Oh, and mine is stock, BTW...it sounds wonderful out of the box, but it's also got a lot of DIY upgrade potential, I hear, if you're into voiding warranties).

 

[TigzStudio]

Go for an audio-gd "Sparrow"
 
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/pre/Sparrow/Sparrow.htm
 
 Guarenteed to sound great imo, I read Kingwa (the man who designs the Audio-gd products) won first place in a major national electronic design competition.  How could you go wrong!
 
I have his higher end amp and it is amazing.  Im tempted to get one just to compare it against my big boy system for the heck of it, and also put it in the ps3 system chain.  

 

[aristos_achaion]

Go for an audio-gd "Sparrow"
 
http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/pre/Sparrow/Sparrow.htm
 
 Guarenteed to sound great imo, I read Kingwa (the man who designs the Audio-gd products) won first place in a major national electronic design competition.  How could you go wrong!
 
I have his higher end amp and it is amazing.  Im tempted to get one just to compare it against my big boy system for the heck of it, and also put it in the ps3 system chain.  

 
I've used Audio-GD products before (the Compass, to be specific, the predecessor of the Sparrow & FUN), and it's certainly a quality operation (good components, good product, built like a tank with shipping costs to match). The sparrow doesn't really look like what the OP is looking for, though--it's a mini headphone amp + DAC, and there's not a DAC-only output on it. The FUN has one (and sounds just like the Sparrow, supposedly), but then you're spending extra $$$ on an onboard headphone amp you don't need.

 

[TigzStudio]

my bad I thought the sparrow had the output. :/ apologies.

 

[Leny]

Paying out for a $250 DAC might bring only tiny improvements. My advice is save your money and just use what you have. Save for a significant upgrade before changing.

 

[TheWuss]

my sentiments as well.
$250 isn't going to bring you big improvements.
 
just getting into the "worthwhile" range would be $350 and above, IMHO.
 
for example, check out the keces da-131:
http://www.acoustic-fun.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29
 
and even that option is a good sounding dac, but a brand from taiwan.  for what that's worth.
 

 

[tim3320070]

Quote:

 
I've used Audio-GD products before (the Compass, to be specific, the predecessor of the Sparrow & FUN), and it's certainly a quality operation (good components, good product, built like a tank with shipping costs to match). The sparrow doesn't really look like what the OP is looking for, though--it's a mini headphone amp + DAC, and there's not a DAC-only output on it. The FUN has one (and sounds just like the Sparrow, supposedly), but then you're spending extra $$$ on an onboard headphone amp you don't need.

It has DAC/line output from the HP out using the 1/4" stereo-RCA plug.

 

[audio-hunter]

increase your budget, and go for AMB Labs gamma2 i think is good choice.