First time DAC buyer

[LeeBean]

I'm fairly new to the world of HiFi and therefore haven't luckily developed all that high standards yet.



I've been using the headphone out on my 2015 Dell Precision for quite some time for streaming Tidal quality level music through my powered bookshelf speakers and desperately want to upgrade to an external DAC



Question is -

if i'd be happy with the DAC built into audio interface Motu M2(since I'd like the added benefit of a mic pre)

Or could I appreciate the Ifi zen DAC V2 for it's considerably higher spec? Nevermind the added benefit of a massive upgrade in its headphone amp section.



Thanks for any opinions



LeeBean



PS: I could already tell a massive upgrade coming from spotify even through the crappy laptop integrated DAC.

 

[lovinthehd]

Depends on the quality of the dac/output capabilities of the computer to an extent. Some are better than others. DACs as a whole are a mature tech, so more about the feature set, particularly the headphone amp section could be a great reason for the improvement (rather than the actual conversion of digital to analog). If the Motu works for you in feature set, I'd doubt you're going to find much different with other dacs. Might try this thread to start (and there are some others there you might find interesting on the subject as well as a wide variety of dac testing).

 

[shadyJ]

I'm fairly new to the world of HiFi and therefore haven't luckily developed all that high standards yet.



I've been using the headphone out on my 2015 Dell Precision for quite some time for streaming Tidal quality level music through my powered bookshelf speakers and desperately want to upgrade to an external DAC



Question is -

if i'd be happy with the DAC built into audio interface Motu M2(since I'd like the added benefit of a mic pre)

Or could I appreciate the Ifi zen DAC V2 for it's considerably higher spec? Nevermind the added benefit of a massive upgrade in its headphone amp section.



Thanks for any opinions



LeeBean



PS: I could already tell a massive upgrade coming from spotify even through the crappy laptop integrated DAC.

The MOTU maxes out performance audibility in a DAC. It has a really good DAC, and there isn't anything better than is humanly audible. If you have a tough impedance load for headphones, it might be worth it to get a better headphone amp, but it really depends on your headphones. Supposedly the MOTU M4 has a significantly better headphone amp than the M2. If you are doing any recording and want a decent microphone input, get the MOTU, but if you are only doing listening, it might be worth just getting the Zen.

 

[fmw]

What is wrong with your current DAC? There isn't any magic to them. They all use a common system for doing the digital conversion. I have owned everything from the DAC in a Sony Walkman to a high end DAC costing nearly $2000. Through headphones, there was no meaningful difference. I didn't own the expensive one for very long. I had an outboard DAC for my recording equipment but only because it was an ADC as well. Your money is probably best spent elsewhere in my view.