How many of you agree with spending money on a good quality DAC

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was just taking another look at NwAvGuy's ODAC Released article.

Whatever people choose and buy, and however many multiples of the ODAC it costs, the article is well worth reading. He's been testing his own design against the much-more-expensive Benchmark DAC1

 

[samirk]

Try M2Tech Young. It has USB input so you can directly play via ur laptop or Mac mini without any USB-SPDIF converter..

I can vouch for its quality, it has outperformed my Naim cdp which cost double than it.

 

[2chFreak]

Try M2Tech Young. It has USB input so you can directly play via ur laptop or Mac mini without any USB-SPDIF converter..

I can vouch for its quality, it has outperformed my Naim cdp which cost double than it.

M2Tech products are very good but at this time, I am going the PS Audio direction .. soon to be implemented into my Mac Mini w/ SSD drive modded with Linear transformer PSU & non-vibrational chassis / Full Amarra + Meridian 518 digital-to-digital processor in-between transport and dac - performing volume duties, noise shaping, 16>24 bit word choice.

"Young" is also a very stellar unit that is sure to knock out likes of Naim and I second that observation.

Hope you are enjoying your sound.

 

[annouhInhanty]

excellent forum

I was right in choosing forum. Thank you!

 

[CryptBala]

To get better result from the compressed audio i stronly recommend you a dac.. Something like a wyred 4 sound

 

[dips0502]

To the moderators....Can we please have a separate DAC section ? Currently threads related to DAC are being posted under several sections, making searching for articles on DAC a tad tedious.

 

[john_k_antony]

Dear All,

Thank you very much for all the valuable suggestions and recommendations. I really understood the pros and cons of having a dedicated DAC for digital stereo reproduction. Really appreciate all your help.

I have made up my mind to get myself an Oppo-105. Oppo-105 has a good DAC with ESS Sabre 32bit reference chip. Oppo-105 has other features that suits all my requirements, like external HDMI inputs, external digital inputs for using the internal DAC of Oppo-105. I am planning to get Oppo from US next month. So I am getting an all in one solution for $1200 . I am going to invest the extra money I saved for a dedicated DAC towards my amp/speakers.

I already have an Oppo-93 that I am going to use in my living room setup.

Once again thank you all for all the valuable suggestions.

Thanks,
John.

 

[srisaikat]

@John

I have not really detailed out why I chose the W4S DAC 2...

John, I have about 1000 CDs and close to 2000 LPs that I want to keep... there are 2-300 LPs that I have put away and am slowly selling... Now that being in the background, what I find is that I have not put on a CD more than 3-4 times in the last 3 years-- and that too when i have had audiophile guests who come over with their own CDs for a listen...

I have almost all the CD titles on Vinyl and prefer Vinyl to CD.

However, to say that I don't listen to a digital front end, or that I don't need one, would be a lie.

I do listen to a lot of FLAC... before making an investment on a new title on LP, I get the FLAC. Earlier I would burn the FLAC as a CD and play it through my CD player.

If I liked the album, I'd go an buy it on vinyl.

But this process got too tedious, and in my book very wasteful. As i would not listen to that particular CD again... that much of plastic wasted!

So, in comes the Logitech Squeezebox Touch with a Cambridge Audio Dac Magic...

All sampling started to happen via the SBT. While the SBT is great and convenient, it wont do better than the average CDP in the 50-60k range (tops)... and the DAC Magic coupling to it was of no use. The SBT's in built DAC was just as good.

Overall, I felt that i could do better... At another FM's place - CyberVinay, i undertood how PC + DAC can be a super solution.

So, I started exploring... I certainly did not want to spend an obscene amount of money on a DAC and PC as I'd rather utilise that money on optimising my Vinyl playback...

So, for PC, I brought in the services of my back-up Dell Laptop. Its a Core2 Duo Machine, with 3 GB Ram... (will be upgrading the RAM to 8 GB). And after a fair amount of auditioning I chose the W4S DAC 2...

There is one other DAC at the 1L price point that I quite liked and that is the Thyaga DAC from AP.

The W4S DAC 2 is just a touch better, however... Just a touch, mind.

Both these above mentioned DAC's stand head and shoulders above other Dac's in the sub 1L mark.

And I do not go by reviews... I like to make my own judgement as I have burnt my fingers way too many times in the past....

hi,
I am looking for a DAC with budget upto 1 lakh, can u please guide me to get this w4s DAC, where have u get it from in India? I also like Audio-Gd ref. series. Can u help me how to import or buy any of these dacs in India? Last time I faced difficulties importing Emotiva by customs. I will be highly grateful for any kind of help.

 

[CLEARCUT]

I feel myself right person to answer the question. Recently I got one wyred 4sound dac1. Previously I had come across like dacmagic and so so. Then my Ayon cd1s impressed me with its dac. Then came the wyred. My sincere advice is go for it or go for Oppo 105 which is versatile and with same dacs used. The sonics are good. Only draw back is it takes time to burn in. I feel it is correct. I use it with my kaiboer k6 and Asus mini o play and played flac and wave files through this Dac with the help of coaxial (kaiboer) optical (asus) I believe Kaiboer is better audio. Simply superb what a change absolute cd quality. Different type of digital listening. You need not use your cpu via usb. U can go for streaming players with external hard disk. I highly recommend this dac which will not disappoint u. Pl use good quality of coaxial cable.:clapping::clapping:

 

[greenhorn]

I have an entry level DAC - a meier porta corda 3 i picked up for 3k used.
my laptop has a sigmatel onboard chip, which is better than most realteks, but this DAC made a significant improvement on even that!

 

[CLEARCUT]

But dont expect too much from OPPo instantly. Burn in time makes it hero till then it s a joker. All the best. I came to know in India too there is a dealer in Delhi who is offering 105 below 1l with warranty. Since the dollar and Indian rupee is steady the oppo people will reduce the price of 105 while they go for further model. Since then I also have an idea to wait and buy Oppo too which is more versatile.

 

[anm]

has anyone tried region free kit on 105?
I am thinking of let go of my oppo 95 and buy a new 105.
Is there a worthy dac/ headphone amp in usd 500 range that can better oppo?

 

[john_k_antony]

I heard good reviews about - Schitt Gungnir - GUNGNIR - $749.00 : Schiit Audio, Headphone amps and DACs made in USA.

$750 without USB and $850 with USB.

Or Schitt Bifrost for $350/450 - BIFROST Schiit Bifrost Upgradable 32 bit 24/192 DAC [] - $349.00 : Schiit Audio, Headphone amps and DACs made in USA.

Never heard them before, but the reviews are good.

Their FAQs are very funny though :lol:

-John.

 

[soulforged]

Anyone had any experience with Audio-GD...they seem to have an implementation of every DAC chip possible...there are a lot of positive stuff on them especially on head-fi...their wolfson and ESS DACs look interesting...