DAC can give some improvement ! ?

[sjith]

Mine is a Technics SU-VX500 Stereo Integrated Amp of 60W per Channel @ 8 Ohms Connected with a pair of Paradigm Titan V2.0 Bookshelfs.The source is my laptop and a Technics SH-GE90 Digital Equalizer is coming between the lap and Amp. I used to listen Indian Clssical Semi Classical And Ghazal Music in the Evenings until Late Night (Mp3 files) at a moderate or minimum volume level.
Is there any Improvement expectable by adding a USB DAC to the current setup ?
or
What else need to be upgraded for getting better detailed listening

Budget 15 to 25K for DAC

 

[krell]

yes, i connected an external DAC(ZHOULU D3) to my oppo bdp83 player and the improvement is there,but the same DAC when i connected to my desktop coaxial out(from motherboard) the improvement is HUGE,now most of the times i am enjoying music through my pc.:yahoo:

 

[koushik]

To improve the sound of your system which is sourced from a Lappy, a DAC around that budget will give excellent result. Get yourself a DAC with USB input something similar to this one - Maverick TubeMagic D2 or V-DAC II etc.

There are lot of threads running on DAC of similar budget in this forum. Just go through them. I am sure you will find something that fits your budget and taste and you will get a great performance boost.

 

[kvandhi]

Thanks for info, My question is even i am having upto 320KBPS MP3 playing via Itunes will this DAC gives more quality audio than without DAC from LAPOP.

 

[koushik]

Thanks for info, My question is even i am having upto 320KBPS MP3 playing via Itunes will this DAC gives more quality audio than without DAC from LAPOP.

Of course yes. These dedicated DACs are far more superior than any onboard DAC in a single chip that most of the laptop or pc contains. You will be taken to all together a different world of experience.

 

[gramaphone]

Of course yes. These dedicated DACs are far more superior than any onboard DAC in a single chip that most of the laptop or pc contains. You will be taken to all together a different world of experience.

+1 to that

 

[greenhorn]

if your laptop has a Realtek onboard, then *anything* will make it sound better. Sigmatel/AD etc make some slightly better chips, but even an entry level DAC will bring a world of difference - even a 100$ DAC.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

even a 100$ DAC.

Whilst cost is far from being everything, and on-board audio from any PC is hugely superior to how it was a decade or so ago... the onboard chip costs, what, a couple of dollars? A $100 DAC should be very nice. The right $100 DAC could be very nice!

 

[kvandhi]

Please suggest any entry level USB DAC for my laptop.

 

[paramesh]

I am also planing to buy a DAC if it is improvement with laptop for mp3 files.

pls give me some good DAC around $100. one of my friend is going to US,so I can plan from there.

 

[greenhorn]

http://www.hifivision.com/what-should-i-buy/27950-headphone-dac-amp-100-a.html
for folks looking for entry level DAC's. I just said $100 because even for a fraction for the OP's budget, he could get around 90-98% of the performance

 

[iaudio]

You could try this:
FiiO E10 USB DAC AMP 96K/24bit - FiiO Audio Products - Brands - Headphones & Amps

 

[kvandhi]

You could try this:
FiiO E10 USB DAC AMP 96K/24bit - FiiO Audio Products - Brands - Headphones & Amps

Your signature shows, you are using udac, Hope its Nuforce Udac2.
Please let me , about the quality and price and where to get it online?

 

[hifipal4all]

Mine is a Technics SU-VX500 Stereo Integrated Amp of 60W per Channel @ 8 Ohms Connected with a pair of Paradigm Titan V2.0 Bookshelfs.The source is my laptop and a Technics SH-GE90 Digital Equalizer is coming between the lap and Amp. I used to listen Indian Clssical Semi Classical And Ghazal Music in the Evenings until Late Night (Mp3 files) at a moderate or minimum volume level.
Is there any Improvement expectable by adding a USB DAC to the current setup ?
or
What else need to be upgraded for getting better detailed listening

Budget 15 to 25K for DAC

Yes, few DACs can give some improvement and few can give unbelievable improvement!!!

Listening to a system with a high-end DAC in the chain will help us to understand how much a DAC can impact the overall sound of a system. (Just I would like to mention that I have personally listened to the Playback Design DAC and the Ayre Acoustics DAC in a very high-end setup of the same league). When a external high-end DAC is hooked-up to a setup OR digital output of any source is routed through the digital input of a high-end cd player (few players like Ayon and top end models from CA, Marantz have this feature), a day & night difference in sound quality can be heard.

Well, DACs are primarily used for very precise and high quality digital-to-Analogue conversion means the analogue output of the DAC has to be completely neutral (without any colouration in the sound) and as closer as possible to the original recording. Unfortunately, none of the entry level DACs that are available today can bring a big improvement in the overall sound but some improvement for sure. I don't want to mention any brand names, models or price-point here . Also, it is a fact that CD players with good quality built-in DAC OR computers with very expensive sound card can outperform many entry-level DACs.

Currently many audio enthusiasts have started to go the DAC way but only a few are able to afford high-end DACs. Since a DAC has the biggest advantage of multi-source digital input connectivity, many of them settle down with entry-level DACs within their affordability limit.

Few points to remember before buying a DAC ...

1) At dealer's place, bcoz of the room dimension, room acoustics, system & cables used for testing will contribute to a great extent and the overall sound of any DAC may be pleasing. So it is advisable to request the dealer/seller to lend the DAC for 1 or 2 days to check & find out how it actually sounds at home.

2) Extensive listening is a must ... observe to what extent there are changes/improvement in the overall sound quality.

3) Better to listen to the tracks those are familiar and the ones that are frequently listened at home.

4) Finally, listen to the same tracks without the DAC. This will give an idea to what extent there is difference in overall sound quality with & without the DAC in your setup and it will also help in making a decision whether to go ahead with the purchase.

Cheers ... Ramesh @ Bangalore

 

[shibashis]

A DAC will improve the sound quite a bit. I knew it and found out first hand myself. The same song when played through Airplay via my iPod touch sounds much better than when being played through my Dell using iTunes. With the laptop details are lost and muffled, iPod brings 'life' to the songs. And almost all my music is in 320 kbps, some in FLAC, so it will improve SQ quite a bit I would think.
I thought of getting a USB DAC for my laptop, but if I am using Airplay to stream the music over the wifi it will not be of any use. So have to use the iPod most of the times, but the laptop is much more convenient to navigate through the library, wish there was something I could do about it.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

People who spend lakhs on hifi components may say that it is the only way, and nothing else will do. Perhaps, for them, it is true! However, those who have only tens of thousands can still get stuff that is very good indeed. How well can you eat without going to the most expensive restaurant in the country? Very well! And, sometimes, even better!

Really, this says it all...

if your laptop has a Realtek onboard, then *anything* will make it sound better. Sigmatel/AD etc make some slightly better chips, but even an entry level DAC will bring a world of difference - even a 100$ DAC.

 

[ravin]

Will there be any difference if the DAC has dual chips WM8740(x2) versus WM8741(x1). Please enlighten.....

 

[koushik]

Will there be any difference if the DAC has dual chips WM8740(x2) versus WM8741(x1). Please enlighten.....

IMO, there is no black and white answer to that. It depends on how well it is implemented. But yes, on paper, separate DAC chip for each channel looks better.

 

[kvandhi]

I got the information about Nuforce UDac2 price is around 10k+.
Is there any low budget DAC available in the market or I shall check in used market for DAC.

 

[Maxprocrj]

if your laptop has a Realtek onboard, then *anything* will make it sound better. Sigmatel/AD etc make some slightly better chips, but even an entry level DAC will bring a world of difference - even a 100$ DAC.

hyeah:hyeah: