[sygyzy]

I have coax digital out on my computer and would like to connect that to a DAC whch will go to a headphone amp.

What are some choices I have? Recommendations would be appreciated. I am not sure on budget. Cheaper is better but I will pay what I need to. I am a big bang for the buck type of guy so one that fits that description would be ideal.

I am hoping $200 or less but recommend anything you want.

Thanks in advance.

 

[lan]

$200 isn't much of a budget and I dont' recommend getting a DAC for your computer unless:

- you have a soundcard with optical out
- you have some power conditioning
- you can budget for a good optical glass toslink

So for the time being just get an emu 1212m OR emu 0404 and save.

 

[Mr.Radar]

^^^^^^^^Agreed. For $200 you can get the EMU 1212m which is a card that, in stock form, many people say sounds better than the Meridian 508.24 CD player, which commonly goes for around $1100, and if you get it modded if you get it modded it becomes cometetive with the Meridian 588, which commonly goes for $2000.

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan $200 isn't much of a budget and I dont' recommend getting a DAC for your computer unless: - you have a soundcard with optical out

I don't understand that at all. IMHO, rca digital sounds better than optical for the same money. This is not to say that optical can't be great, or even better than rca, but I prefer rca at the same price point. Also, one can pick up a used monarchy DIP for under $100 which will not only reduce the jitter coming out of the computer, but will convert from one format to another (i.e., from either optical or rca to to aes/ebu or rca)

That said, I think there are numerous DACs to be found on the used market in the $200-300 range which are quite good. I use an old CAL Sigma with a Mullard tube from upscale audio which is quite musical. I also think that used EAD (enlightened audio design) DACs in that price range are quite good. There are many many more, these just happen to be my favorites, and I think this is a good price point in the used market for computer digital sources.

-d

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsavitsk IMHO, rca digital sounds better than optical for the same money. Also, one can pick up a used monarchy DIP for under $100 which will not only reduce the jitter coming out of the computer, but will convert from one format to another (i.e., from either optical or rca to to aes/ebu or rca) That said, I think there are numerous DACs to be found on the used market in the $200-300 range which are quite good.

Well you want galvanic isolation from the computer since the computer and it's ground are noisy. Some coax outputs of some soundcards are also out of spec (voltage and impedance). These will add jitter.

As for price point, I have a few variations of the "cheap" Canare+Belden recipes and a Stereovox HDXV cable ($99) which are highly praised. They don't beat my $25 glass toslink in this scenario.

Jitter reducers can be useful but don't forget they will add their own characteristic jitter. It can be less and it can be different. I use to use a GWLabs DSP after my cheaper soundcards and there was an improvement. After my emu arrived, I no longer used it because I felt the quality got degraded. So I added some blackgates and elna caps to the GW Labs DSP and it improved. Still I decided not to put it back into chain with the soundcard because I felt it complicates things too much. I have to worry about another digital cable's and AC power quality.

Yes there are good cheaper DACs but to really maximize them, it's better to have the foundations in place which to me are what I stated: 1) power conditioning, 2) lower jitter soundcard 3) optical SPDIF. When these things upstream are taken care of, anything downstream like DACs, amps, interconnects are more discernable from each other.

 

[Adriel]

The routes you can take for $200 are used DACs on audiogon, or DIY from kits or project instructions.

 

[cadobhuk]

Will $200 DAC sound any better than EMU,even stock?

 

[Mr.Radar]

Read my above comments. A stock EMU 1212m sounds better than a $1100 CD Player and I belive it compares favorably to DACs in the class of the Benchmark DAC1 (a $1000 DAC).

 

[ampgalore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Radar Read my above comments. A stock EMU 1212m sounds better than a $1100 CD Player and I belive it compares favorably to DACs in the class of the Benchmark DAC1 (a $1000 DAC).

Have you done the comparison yourself? I really doubt this is true.

The inside of a computer is not an ideal environment for audiophile grade products, not to mention you are limited to whatever power supply is available to the computer.

 

[Mr.Radar]

I have not, but if you read through the SoCal meet impressions thread you'll find a few comparisons of EMU 1212m vs. Meridian CDPs.

 

[ampgalore]

Those are just impressions done in a non ideal environment for short periods of time. Given enough time, I doubt people would reach the same conclusion.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadobhuk Will $200 DAC sound any better than EMU,even stock?

"better" has many possible definitions and combinations in which I consider the following some:

- greater detail
- more smoothness
- better frequency extension
- better dynamics
- more space between notes aka lowered noise floor aka blacker blacks

My general impression of the emu is that is has nice detail and frequency extension and it's rather neutral as it is afterall a music production card. But it's not the smoothest, dynamics is ok, and blacks seem more like dark grey. Certainly there are many soundcards worst. As for cheaper DACs, I'd look for used as you get better value. You may find something which may not have as much detail but these other characteristics (if present) can make up for that in a still involving presentation.

 

[richx]

Is the computer's power supply really that limiting? Higher-quality ones give you a 50mV ripple on the +5 and +3.3 lines and 120mV on the +12 line ...

 

[kyrie]

Saying that the EMU can compete with a $1000 CDP should is no way imply that it is able to compete with a $500 DAC, much less a $1000 one. There are a lot of components in the CDP, and the DAC inside a CDP cannot compare with a standalone, which is specially designed and contructed to only to do the digital-analog conversion, and do that one thing as well as possible.

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Radar A stock EMU 1212m sounds better than a $1100 CD Player and I belive it compares favorably to DACs in the class of the Benchmark DAC1 (a $1000 DAC).

if thats true i am going to cry

, lojay where are you?