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Choosing an entry-level DAC

  • Thread starter Thread starter blastthehumans
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blastthehumans

Audiophyte
Jul 20, 2011
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Hi folks!

Wasn't sure in which thread to get in, I think this is the closest to my issue.

For last couple of weeks I'm in a painful process of choosing a DAC. Mostly I'll use it to connect my Mac to Cambriidge Audio 840A int. apmlifier. Speakers - PSB Imagine towers, Audioquest Type 4 cables.

I-ve got a psychological "cap" of 600 bucks. As i presume, there's not much choice of an entry-level DACs. Two of Musical Fidelity and Cambridge Audio DACMagic - thats what i've found in big names' brands.

Also, I've got a guy ready to sell me a neat PS Audio Digital Link III for $500. This one is pretty much interesting by the name, but after reading some reviews over the internet (damn you, internet!) I've found reports that PS audio tends to loose the "juicyness of the bass" and the drive.

This is critical for me - I'm a fan of hard rock/ classical rock.

Fellas, I need some advice. Pls
 
You might want to post this question at computer audiophile; folks there know a lot about dacs. I wouldn't get the cambridge dacmagic; it's a bit dated and there are dacs out there that will do a better job via usb. You are probably going to want one with a line rather than a variable out with your set-up (some have both, some don't). You could check out the HRT music streamers; they make some really well regarded dacs. I've been using the HRT music streamer II which runs $150 and I've been really happy with it. It's about as simple and straightforward a dac as you can get. At $600, I'd check out the audio gd dacs at Pacific Valve as well; I own and use the audio gd fun dac and can highly recommend it as well.
 
HRT - MUSIC STREAMER II STD or NuForce UDAC-2
Anything else will be waste of your money

p.s: I dare you to compare above to $27 Behringer UCA-202 (thou it's only 16/48 it's better than CD quality)
 
BoredSysAdmin said:
HRT - MUSIC STREAMER II STD or NuForce UDAC-2
Anything else will be waste of your money

p.s: I dare you to compare above to $27 Behringer UCA-202 (thou it's only 16/48 it's better than CD quality)
Click to expand...

@BSA: I think it would be great for this site to do some comparisons on inexpensive dacs; the Behringer might do very well in a test. One caveat though is that the headphone output has 50 ohm output impedance. That probably won't work well with your typical headphones that has 16 to 32 ohm impedance. Also I have some doubts about the nuforce udac-2. I've owned one and used it extensively and got rid of it before buying an audio-gd fun "b" dac for not much more (it runs around $200). The udac's volume pot is only so-so; the audio gd fun has high and low gain, variable and fixed out, 3 digital inputs, a heck of a lot better volume pot, and a markedly better sound stage. And audio-gd, unlike a great many chinese audio companies, has a very good US distributor, Pacific Valve. I think you can do a lot better than the nuforce udac-2 at around the same price.

One last point, if the Behringer does 16/48, as your post states, that may not be a good thing since redbook is 16/44.1. I think it's worthwhile to have bit perfect audio output in computer playback.

I agree about the HRT musicstreamer II as I've recommended it more than a few times. It is made in CA (everything else being equal I prefer to buy something made in the USA), it is asynchronous so the dac handles the audio timing (a computer does not do a great job on this), handles hi res files very well, and does a reasonable job of isolating the audio stream from the computer which tend to be fairly noisy environments.
 
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bikemig said:
One caveat though is that the headphone output has 50 ohm output impedance. That probably won't work well with your typical headphones that has 16 to 32 ohm impedance. Also I have some doubts about the nuforce udac-2.
Click to expand...
OP asked for External DAC to connect amp, not headphones

bikemig said:
One last point, if the Behringer does 16/48, as your post states, that may not be a good thing since redbook is 16/44.1. I think it's worthwhile to have bit perfect audio output in computer playback.
Click to expand...

it does 16/44 as well as 16/48
 
Guys thanks a lot for the replies.
And mostly for uncovering the Pacific Audio. I think I'll stick with them. They have a couple of interesting products.
 
The EMU 0404 USB is being phased out and is available for under $200.

It's an asynch (good) USB 2.0 pro audio mastering sound device.

It will give you both RCA (consumer) and XLR (Pro) line out options, Headphone pre-amp, etc....
 
bikemig said:
and does a reasonable job of isolating the audio stream from the computer which tend to be fairly noisy environments.
Click to expand...

Uhg...

Conventional 'Old School' wisdom says this isn't really a problem. I am using the EMU 1212M PCIe and I would be more than willing to bench it against the likes of the DacMagic and HRT's of the world out there.

What I would potentially recommend is driving the external USB sound device with a nice regulated supply or straight up battery since neither are a lot of money.


bikemig said:
@ blastthehumans : as you can see, dacs don't get a lot of love on this site. You might want to check out computer audiophile and decide for yourself what you think, http://www.computeraudiophile.com/. This is also a useful site for computer audio, http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/index.html.
Click to expand...

DAC's get plenty of love around here. Not sure where you got that from. You just won't see most here ascribe flowery prose to units that do a great job of D to A.

BoredSysAdmin said:
HRT - MUSIC STREAMER II STD or NuForce UDAC-2
Click to expand...

Given what I have read about NuForce and how their products both sound and measure, the anecdotal responses would lead me to steer clear of them.
 
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jinjuku said:
Conventional 'Old School' wisdom says this isn't really a problem. I am using the EMU 1212M PCIe and I would be more than willing to bench it against the likes of the DacMagic and HRT's of the world out there.
Click to expand...

I have a very new pc - Core i5-2500k on a ASRock P67 Extreme4 Mobo with 750W ThermalTake power supply. After I switched to my new Active JBL's my onboard sound card became unbearable - too much noise came out especially during i/o processes.
However by switching to use my old PCI SB Audigy2 and switching to premium monoprice 3.5mm to RCA cables all my issues with humming & buzzing are gone now. Thank god.

jinjuku said:
Given what I have read about NuForce and how their products both sound and measure, the anecdotal responses would lead me to steer clear of them.
Click to expand...

Sorry, you're right. I got confused, NuForce does indeed measures terribly.

Alternatives:
http://www.leckertonaudio.com/products/uha-4/
http://www.miccastore.com/fiio-usb-....html?osCsid=a6affdd6695aa8dafb9471a0b2823977
 
Last edited by a moderator:
BoredSysAdmin said:
I have very new pc - Core i5-2500k on a ASRock P67 Extreme4 Mobo with 750W ThermalTake power supply. After I switched to my new Active JBL onboard sound card become unbearable - too much noise came out especially during i/o processes.
However by old PCI SB Audigy2 had none of these weird issues - after I switched to premium monoprice 3.5mm to RCA cables all my announces with humming&buzzing are gone now. Thanks god.
Click to expand...

Then the main-board integrated audio is done poorly.

What is 'all my announces' :confused::p

My setup is directly aimed at 2.0 music reproduction. It enabled me to go with a Linear regulated DC power supply from Tripplite and a DC-DC ATX converter. It was ~the same cost as a traditional Switching PSU that was silent/passive. This way the actual power source is feet away from the computer.
 
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