Which budget USB DAC under 200USD

[nigelwright7557]

I just bought something like this and it worked fine.
ELE EL-D01 MINI HIFI USB PCM2704 DAC BOARD CARD + ELNA Capacitor New | eBay

 

[schubert]

Sowter 3603

How did you wire it? Did you just use it to go from balanced to single-ended?

 

[CharlieLaub]

I just bought something like this and it worked fine.
ELE EL-D01 MINI HIFI USB PCM2704 DAC BOARD CARD + ELNA Capacitor New | eBay

I have a bag full of those. They are not all that good, honestly. They are just the PCM2704 doing it all. The implementation is bare bones and not that good. I use them to turn thing on and off with the output coupling caps removed and a couple of transistors.

 

[Insanoff]

Anyone knows about this DAC?
https://world.taobao.com/item/40806....14.145.2dd3d6c75Iq573&ns=1&abbucket=8#detail

How you would compare it to 8xTDA1387 NOS?

 

[abraxalito]

Plenty of DIYers have good things to say about PCM179x but I've only heard it with opamp I/V (a few different opamps ending up with LM6172) and it coloured brass timbres too much for my taste. In comparison TDA1387 is quite neutral.

 

[pistollero]

Plenty of DIYers have good things to say about PCM179x but I've only heard it with opamp I/V (a few different opamps ending up with LM6172) and it coloured brass timbres too much for my taste. In comparison TDA1387 is quite neutral.

What tda board do you recomend?
Thks

 

[abraxalito]

I don't have any recommendations for boards in stock form. However almost any TDA1387 based DAC has bags and bags of potential for being modded to the heavens. The cheapest one (I'm modding half a dozen of these right now) is here : L1387DAC 4X ??TDA1387 ??USB???(??+??),??TDA1543-???

The price of 44rmb (about $7) is for a board and kit of parts you need to assemble yourself. For $15 you get a finished and boxed DAC. The cost of the parts for the mods will probably double that.

Here's one of my boards in process of being modded.

 

[r_jik45]

Your mod looks like a new DAC

 

[abraxalito]

The mod keeps the USB input (CM108) the four TDA1387s and the input and output sockets. Everything else is new - power supply, anti-imaging filter and I/V stage.

 

[r_jik45]

Just wondering if your (diyaudio's people great) knowledge could lead to a top DAC from cheap Chinese"s offers?!?!

 

[abraxalito]

Of course my own DAC is a 'top DAC' (no doubt about it in my mind at least ;-)). Eventually someone will turn it into a commercial design - in the meantime you can build it yourself in due course as I'm putting the schematics up on Hackaday - Audiophile-sounding DAC for almost no money | Hackaday.io

 

[Insanoff]

Thank you for doing great things, abraxalito.


P.S. I have ordered this DAC: L1543DAC 16X??TDA1543HiFi????? ??TDA1541????-???
With this USB interface: ??L4399DAC?????CM6631 24bit 192k USB????-???

 

[abraxalito]

Excellent - I do hope you will open a thread on how it sounds and the mods you're going to do to it...

 

[pistollero]

Of course my own DAC is a 'top DAC' (no doubt about it in my mind at least ;-)). Eventually someone will turn it into a commercial design - in the meantime you can build it yourself in due course as I'm putting the schematics up on Hackaday - Audiophile-sounding DAC for almost no money | Hackaday.io

Thanks a lot for sharing your toughts and passion.. i will try the tda dac...

 

[Insanoff]

Excellent - I do hope you will open a thread on how it sounds and the mods you're going to do to it...

Of course! I am waiting for it to arrive.

 

[Extreme_Boky]

These Weiliang designed DACs are cheap but their design's maturity and stability are not as affirmed as those more established brands. IMHO not worth to take the risk just for a small price difference.

Personally, of all the budget DACs out there, I will choose Yulong Canary DAC above anything else. You can see from the design that it worth every cent.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

That does indeed look very nice... It seems like best buy at the price.

It is also a full-blown analog input -> class A discrete headphone amplifier as well (!!)

Reviews are very positive. here's one:

Yulong DAART Canary - The Elitist Journal

...this eBay site has nice photos...
YULONG DAART CANARY DSD SABRE 384kHz DAC DIGITAL ANALOG CONV headphone amplifier | eBay

 

[abraxalito]

Of course! I am waiting for it to arrive.

I'd also like to order one and replace all those TDA1543s with TDA1387s. Then add a filter and active I/V stage. When your thread's running I'll post up my progress

 

[r_jik45]

Of course my own DAC is a 'top DAC'...

Thanks for sharing your mod!!!

 

[phase]

I can see from the design that there are DACs on the auction site that are very similar.

Leaf Amanero USB DAC 32bit/384KHz DSD 256 Optical and Coaxial In Headphone Amp | eBay

The AK4495, Xmos boards are very good for the price too, and have the option to upgrade those at least with better parts...

 

[abraxalito]

P.S. I have ordered this DAC: L1543DAC 16X??TDA1543HiFi????? ??TDA1541????-???
With this USB interface: ??L4399DAC?????CM6631 24bit 192k USB????-???

I have received mine now and after opening it up I cannot recommend it to anyone not willing to mod it. This is a comment not based on the sound quality but rather the (lack of) electrical safety. The chassis isn't earthed and the mains connections to on/off switch and IEC inlet aren't covered in heatshrink. At the very least these two basic safety mods would be a requirement.