Can I get a decent DAC for around $200? Maybe a kit? I have a Mini-Muse DAC that I've been using for years now that I come to think about it. It's connected to my desktop computer and a vintage Kenwood amplifier it sounds great but I'm thinking I could do better seeing as DACs would have been improving over the years since I've had the MiniMuse. I don't have any SMD equipment so any kit would have to have the chips, etc, pre-soldered Any suggestions, ideas welcome.
Is the Mini-Muse DAC a design using TDA1543? If so then a suggestion in a similar vein would be a DAC using TDA1387 like my PhiDAC. Its using SMD but doesn't need specialist equipment to solder - could be that Matt Garman has a kit left : lingDAC - cost effective RBCD multibit DAC design
Sorry mate I sent a PM to you instead of the other bloke Matt Garman! My old brain must be worn out a bit. lol
I've not received a PM from you so are you sure your fingers did what your brain asked them to? 😛
I Know you think you understand what you thought I said. lol I have no idea where it went then? Another one of life's mysteries? Maybe a glitch in the Matrix?😀
Go to this site MANY reviews there take your pick, from DIY to expensive players.
Digital Audio (DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
GO look at DAC comparisons, lots to examine and study.
Digital Audio (DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Some very cheap still sounds very good and some expensive units do not disappoint, take your pick.
Digital Audio (DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
GO look at DAC comparisons, lots to examine and study.
Digital Audio (DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Some very cheap still sounds very good and some expensive units do not disappoint, take your pick.
It helps to get opinions from people that have actually used these DACs. Thanks mate!😀
I have 4 DACs, all under $200.
First is the iFi Nano iDSD, the most expensive at $199. I find it a little finicky in operation but it sounds just fine. It is USB only.
#2 is the Audioquest Dragonfly Black, also USB only, for $99. This is meant as a thumb drive style DAC for portable use. I used it in my main system for a while connected via a long USB cable and use it daily with my iPhone on the subway. I get MQA hi-res underground where you couldn't get anything beyond MP3 before.
Third up is my Hifiberry DAC+Pro. This is a Raspberry Pi HAT that will only work that way. No USB input, except I believe via the Pi itself. I use it though as a UPnP endpoint running Volumio being fed from my iMac running Audirvana over wifi, and it is hooked up to my kitchen setup. It is surprisingly good with my cheap Sony HT receiver and B&W DM303 speakers. It really upped the quality of the sound in that system.
Lastly is the one I now use in my main system, an Allo Boss RPi HAT. I power this with a battery pack that is always charging when off and totally disconnected from power when on. This one is far and away my favorite of the bunch, rendering music that actually sounds like music, big bass, smooth mids and airy highs. I recently built a silver interconnect for it and it really opened up. While I haven't heard this in comparison to a high-end DAC, I'm sure it wouldn't embarrass itself, maybe the other way around. This is also running Volumio and used in the same way as the Hifiberry.
The only other separate DAC I've owned has been a Monica tube DAC that I bought here on the forum, and then sold a few years later. It was nice, but it has certainly been surpassed all around by the more modern DACs. I'm not a big fan of the NOS sound.
First is the iFi Nano iDSD, the most expensive at $199. I find it a little finicky in operation but it sounds just fine. It is USB only.
#2 is the Audioquest Dragonfly Black, also USB only, for $99. This is meant as a thumb drive style DAC for portable use. I used it in my main system for a while connected via a long USB cable and use it daily with my iPhone on the subway. I get MQA hi-res underground where you couldn't get anything beyond MP3 before.
Third up is my Hifiberry DAC+Pro. This is a Raspberry Pi HAT that will only work that way. No USB input, except I believe via the Pi itself. I use it though as a UPnP endpoint running Volumio being fed from my iMac running Audirvana over wifi, and it is hooked up to my kitchen setup. It is surprisingly good with my cheap Sony HT receiver and B&W DM303 speakers. It really upped the quality of the sound in that system.
Lastly is the one I now use in my main system, an Allo Boss RPi HAT. I power this with a battery pack that is always charging when off and totally disconnected from power when on. This one is far and away my favorite of the bunch, rendering music that actually sounds like music, big bass, smooth mids and airy highs. I recently built a silver interconnect for it and it really opened up. While I haven't heard this in comparison to a high-end DAC, I'm sure it wouldn't embarrass itself, maybe the other way around. This is also running Volumio and used in the same way as the Hifiberry.
The only other separate DAC I've owned has been a Monica tube DAC that I bought here on the forum, and then sold a few years later. It was nice, but it has certainly been surpassed all around by the more modern DACs. I'm not a big fan of the NOS sound.
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Very interesting! You've certainly explored what DACs have to offer! From what I've read the USB 5v computer power supply is the best to use with a DAC because it's filtered very well which makes sense.
@zacster Thank you for the information provided regarding various DACs. Would you be so kind to elaborate in regards to the silver interconnect. As this DAC is a HAT type probably you are referring to a power supply mod for 5V delivery...
No problem... HAT stands for “Hardware Attached on Top”. DACs are not only type of boards attached via the GPIO pins on top of the SBC (Single Board Computer) like RaspberryPi, Odroid, ASUS Tinker Board, etc.
I got a couple of dacs listed in the swap forum.
FiiO E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier
Audioengine D3 Portable USB Premium 24 Bit DAC
FiiO E17K ALPEN 2 USB DAC Headphone Amplifier
Audioengine D3 Portable USB Premium 24 Bit DAC
My power supply is an Anker phone charger battery. When plugged in, it cuts off power to the Raspberry Pi and charges the battery, when unplugged or switched off, the battery power kicks in and powers the Pi.
The silver is an RCA interconnect from the Boss DAC that has RCA analog out to the pre-amp. I built this myself and was floored by how much better it sounded than what I had. The bass just came into such sharp focus that it let everything else come through clearly as well.
Your power supply is far away to be perfect. The only *good* thing is that is not connected to the main supply... in power chargers are buck converters that convert 3.7V to 5V and are very very noisy ... Look for design ...for example Ian lipo supply.
Boss is really quite ok dac for the money, but implementation is not perfect and dynamic is little supressed by powercap... in goal to polish harsh dac sound charatcter.
Boss is really quite ok dac for the money, but implementation is not perfect and dynamic is little supressed by powercap... in goal to polish harsh dac sound charatcter.
The power supply was convenient as I had it on-hand. Compared to the supply that I use to charge the battery, the battery is quiet. I have a linear power supply in my pre-amp and I was thinking of tapping into that at some point, and also directly connecting the output to my pre-amp using the same silver wire I used in my IC.
Whether this is the "best" implementation of a DAC IDK, but it is much better than anything I had before.
Take the Asus essence stx II this sound card with the pcm1794 low largely much more expensive dac .
I see... I concur your findings, years back I've decided too to go 'silver' as well so in order to save money I've purchased two 0.5m lenghts of silver cable, some quality RCA plugs and the obligatory silver solder...The sound got more revealing and clear (CD player - amp silver interconnect).