Used dac I should keep an eye out for?

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spaceman

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I want to upgrade from my SB-Z. It does ok but we all know that for music.....

Anyway, my amp is a venerable and refreshed Sansui AU-D33 with some very nice speaker cables. Courtesy of my friend Bill the electrician who likes to tinker. PSB Century 300i speakers with some upgraded wiring and speaker posts. Sound is good. I am getting some real speaker pads for them and was also wondering about a dac.

I used to have an old PS Audio dac I got cheap. Sucker was great sounding. Those seem rare these days. The cheap part of the equation anyway. What other older models are a great buy these days? Cheaper is better. I hate to be a pinch penny but I have to atm. Too many other old things need replacing.....like my wife!
 
Toslink to a $200 receiver should be sufficient.
 
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Not getting a receiver. Mine sounds really nice. Just old and analogue.
 
Well a receiver is a dac and an amp.
What exactly are you looking for then?
 
and a soundcard is a DAC.

So what is it about the new DAC you want that you don't have on your current dac?
 
Looking for a separate component. An external dac. Receivers are great and all but do not have the sound quality of separates.

For example, the sound card uses a 1/8 th to rca cable. Even a good one is not ideal. It degrades the signal. I was using headphones for which the sbz is good for gaming. Now I want better sound for music and speakers.

Getting the sound device out of the PC is a good idea. Less electrical noise. So a USB or optical dac is what I am looking at.

Sending out the boonie and friends signal!
 
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the FiiO D03K suggestion is perfectly reasonable.. cheap as chips good little optical dac .. I'm using one w/ this..

ta_n77es.jpg
 
I've been listening to an audioquest Dragonfly DAC on a USB stick and it sounds pretty good to my ears.
 
If it doesn't need to be something older or used, then a Behringer UMC204HD (I'd guess that the 202HD would perform the same) or Topping D10 or D30 if you can afford it. I base this on the work done by Amir at AudioScienceReview: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../topping-d30-dac-measurement-and-review.2016/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...master-index-for-audio-hardware-reviews.2079/ - I had some fun browsing his master list of reviews. Considering his background, and that he uses an Audio Precision analyzer, I'd consider his reviews currently the most useful. It's nice to see $250 DACs (Topping D50 / DX7s) outperform nearly all else... except the RME ADI-2.
 
Huh. I am considering the Airist for it's characteristics. Big, warm sound with lots of separation. I will look at the topping though. Seems like $250 gets you a lot these days.
 
Archmage said:
If it doesn't need to be something older or used, then a Behringer UMC204HD (I'd guess that the 202HD would perform the same) or Topping D10 or D30 if you can afford it. I base this on the work done by Amir at AudioScienceReview: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../topping-d30-dac-measurement-and-review.2016/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...master-index-for-audio-hardware-reviews.2079/ - I had some fun browsing his master list of reviews. Considering his background, and that he uses an Audio Precision analyzer, I'd consider his reviews currently the most useful. It's nice to see $250 DACs (Topping D50 / DX7s) outperform nearly all else... except the RME ADI-2.
Click to expand...

spaceman said:
Huh. I am considering the Airist for it's characteristics. Big, warm sound with lots of separation. I will look at the topping though. Seems like $250 gets you a lot these days.
Click to expand...
I fell into the "more expensive = better" trap when shopping for a new DAC, too. I'm sure there's a difference between a $100 and a $5000 DAC, but I ain't paying to find it. I recently sold my Schiit DAC, bought a Gustard that sounds every bit as good, and came away with $300 in my pocket.
 
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