Best usb DAC

[esanthosh]

How about this DAC? I have a friend in Frankfurt who can bring this for me. Is it a good buy at that price?

That $20-30 difference is probably on account of high EU import taxes. Otherwise, it's the same as the one in the Amazon US link given by AudioDoc.

Frankly, I wouldn't pay that much for uDAC. I have owned both uDAC and uDAC-2 (upgraded the uDAC-1 to uDAC-2 by swapping the board). I would consider a fully built ODAC or even Audinst MX-1 for a little more over uDAC-2 for 117. I have heard neither, but I am sure they would do better than uDAC-2.

 

[Audiodoc]

I have first hand experience with the ODAC and it definitely is a killer deal for the $99 board alone. The board is very small and can be easily mounted in a small enclosure / box for free. On the contrary you can purchase a small enclosure locally or from element 14.

 

[haisaikat]

will local cabinets have relevant holes.

 

[anm]

do we need to look at dacs differently based on their usage? ie, for home stereo vs headphone usage?
Are these dacs good enough to compete with more expensive dacs like CA, MF, Rega dacs etc?

 

[ayushbajaj29]

anyone of you guys have tried both pro audio interface and stand alone dac?

I am confused which one will sound better, I mean DAC or professional audio interfaces? (I have KRK Rokit Active speakers which has both RCA and TRS/XLR inputs)

HRT Music streamer only unbalanced RCA outputs,
very good audiphile reviews though.

Focusrite USB interface for pro audio balanced outputs.

I have heard people saying that standalone DAC are hyped for their beauty for high prices. Is that true?

 

[Audiodoc]

@haisalkat. Holes can be drilled easily. The problem one is the USB one.

@ayush. The difference in quality will depend on the DAC chip used as well as its implementation.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

anyone of you guys have tried both pro audio interface and stand alone dac?

What interface? Which DAC?

It is wrong to generalise so much as to say that something will be better or worse just because it belongs to one group or the other.

How would you differentiate a USB Interface from a USB DAC? The USB interface is just as "stand-alone" as the DAC. The interface is a DAC. Just, of course, you get an ADC thrown in too.