[WarrenR]

Hello.

I have a Chord Mojo but it is rarely used anymore. I'm thinking of selling it and getting something cheap to free up some cash.

I have been looking at various USB powered DAC/AMP combos. I have seen the following:

hifimediy Sabre 9018 for £60.
Douk Audio Mini DSD1796+XMOS-U8 for £50 - but it means a month wait from China.
SMSL M3 for £73 from Amazon.

My headphones are Nighthawk Carbon which are very easy to drive. They are also quite dark sounding so a brighter DAC would suit them well possibly.

Are there any other killer £50 combos that I have missed?

Cheers.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Do you need a DAC? If your cans are easy to drive maybe just run them right out of your PC or laptop?

 

[WarrenR]

That's true. I could just use my current soundcard (xonar dg). It doesn't sound too bad via headphones.

But I have had another idea. What about picking up a Fiio m3k for £60 and using that as a soundcard/amp? I could also use it as a DAP obviously (which I need as my phone is pretty pants at audio). I've heard that it does Asynchronous. It sounds too good to be true for £60.

 

[sajunky]

You are in a dire need for something completely different. For $42 you can get a Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC/HPA combo. It takes a little power from USB, it can be used use it with any Android phone.

If successful, it will be a gateway for a real R2R desktop DAC like Audio GD R2R11.

 

[WarrenR]

You are in a dire need for something completely different. For $42 you can get a Nobsound 8xTDA1387 DAC/HPA combo. It takes a little power from USB, it can be used use it with any Android phone.

If successful, it will be a gateway for a real R2R desktop DAC like Audio GD R2R11.

That looks interesting but its only 48khz

 

[]eep]

There is so much to choose from. If your computer has usb-c i would recommend a Tempotec HD pro for around 40. Its for portable use and can do HD inluding native dsd. I use it for connecting my mobile phone to a stationary amp as well as mobile use. Works great and sounds pretty good.

If your hp can accept a balanced cable look into E1DA amps, they would match pretty well. They sound great, very deyailed. Work with a ESS 9038 dac chip.

For under a 100 there are some nice other 9038 Dac's.

I have an hifimediy and its technically ok but not that well made. Plastic shells, cable coming loose. The others do not seem apealing to me. Bland standard dac+opamp boxes. The Smsl M3 looks cheap but ok, falls in the same category though.

If i were to recommend one, one I almost bought on a whim because it has the specs and the looks, es9038q2m. It's just i already have a similar one that's good. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001019561934.html

 

[WarrenR]

I decided to pick up a Fiio BTR3k and it is perfect for what I need and sounds good. I can use it as a USB DAC and also as a DAC for my Nexus 6P via Bluetooth LDAC. The BTR3k smokes the Dragonfly Black I use to have that I was using with my Nexus 6P - mainly because the 6P's USB output is terribly polluted (it's one of the worst I have ever seen on a phone). I know the USB DAC part is only 48Khz but I only have 5 albums in HD; the rest is in Redbook.

I'm very impressed with this little device.