which portable dac? micro dac?

[harj]

which portable dac (must work on battiers) should i go for to use with my pcdp? i was thinking of the headroom micro dac,is this any good?

also how much would of a difference would a external dac make to sq when used with a pcdp?

 

[kiwirugby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harj /img/forum/go_quote.gif which portable dac (must work on battiers) should i go for to use with my pcdp? i was thinking of the headroom micro dac,is this any good? also how much would of a difference would a external dac make to sq when used with a pcdp?

Take a look in the amps section at the iBasso D1 threads. From my Sony D-EJ2000 with a mini-Toslink to the iBasso DAC (stock) the sound is really good.

 

[epaludo]

The MicroDAC is really good. A bit power hungry, but the audio quality is superb.
There's a thread about the new RSA DAC/amp combo, Predator, which has just been announced by Ray Samuels. This might be an interesting option too ...

 

[Socrates3000]

How about an SLA powered Scott Nixon UFO dac?

 

[musicmaker]

I was trying to decide between a micro dac and an iBasso D1. Chose the iBasso D1. I'm sure the microdac also sounds good but its power hungry. I didnt want to change batteries every 3-4 hours. The DAC section of the D1 is *excellent* . You can roll opamps to tailor the sound to your liking. Its also got li-ion batteries and recharging circuit built in. I get very good battery life out of the D1.

i use an iRiver ihp-140 optical out to iBasso D1's DAC line out to Larocco PRII and it sounds incredible.

The amp section of the D1 is also pretty good for a portable, but the DAC is its real strength.