New miniature DACs with top drawer features

[wishihadtubes]

Seems like we're about to be hit by a flood of miniature USB DACs with features like 24/192 playback from heavy hitters, and all priced in the $200 range. First there was the Geek Out made by the folks behind the highly regarded Da Vinci DAC and now there's the DacMagic XS from Cambridge Audio. Interesting times ahead for those getting into computer audio.

 

[theironhorse]

intresting.. bring the fight on big guys... in the end we poor audio enthusiasts will be benefitted with quality audio are lesser prices..

 

[haisaikat]

I recently ordered Behringer UC 202 dac from amazon uk via a frined came to around 3.2 K INR. Saw very good reviews of it and hence at this price point went for it, which were better than Fiio. I plan to pair it with a new setup comprising of Norge 2060 and Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. I think Behringer products are VFM although this dac has limitation of 48KHz only due to USB 1.1

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The internet is supposed to be vast, but still it is a small world. I came across the Geek Out only yesterday, and today wishihadtubes is posting about it here!

But there are already several (a trickle, at least) respected thumb-drive-sized DACs. It seems that, for USB input and 3.5mm analogue (even including headphone amp) output, there may be no need for a DAC to be any bigger! Or more expensive?

So let the flood continue

 

[wishihadtubes]

The Geek Out is actually pretty old news for those who watch out for miniature DACs. What is truly interesting now is the new offer from Gavin Fish, the man behind Geek Out.
He's launched a new fundraising campaign whereby early birds can get the Geek Out and its new bigger brother, Geek Pulse, which is a DAC-cum-headphone amp/pre-amp, for $398. Folks from countries like India will have to add another $40 for shipping.
This is one offer I am truly tempted to take up.

 

[indialogue]

The Geek Out is actually pretty old news for those who watch out for miniature DACs. What is truly interesting now is the new offer from Gavin Fish, the man behind Geek Out.
He's launched a new fundraising campaign whereby early birds can get the Geek Out and its new bigger brother, Geek Pulse, which is a DAC-cum-headphone amp/pre-amp, for $398. Folks from countries like India will have to add another $40 for shipping.
This is one offer I am truly tempted to take up.

Thanks for posting the link here! I just ordered it - the USD398 bundle for the desktop DAC + portable DAC looks like a very good package.

I was considering the iFi iDAC + iFi iCan combo, the Asus Xonar Muses Edition as possible upgrades too. In the end, I think the good repute of Light Harmonic and the great price pushed me towards this option (despite it being a sight unseen purchase). Fingers crossed that it turns out as expected, otherwise expect to see it on the Sale Forums in May 2014

 

[asliarun]

The Geek Out is actually pretty old news for those who watch out for miniature DACs. What is truly interesting now is the new offer from Gavin Fish, the man behind Geek Out.
He's launched a new fundraising campaign whereby early birds can get the Geek Out and its new bigger brother, Geek Pulse, which is a DAC-cum-headphone amp/pre-amp, for $398. Folks from countries like India will have to add another $40 for shipping.
This is one offer I am truly tempted to take up.

That is a DSD DAC from the guys who make davinci DAC. Very interesting. And the funding has exceeded original goal 8 times. Should be a wake up call for others.

It is still 400 bucks though. The tech specs are also vague for the money they are charging. No details on the implementation or components used or even how the volume control is implemented. The way they word it, volume control will only work in USB mode.

 

[wishihadtubes]

Hi indialogue,
I have a little cash to spare and I'm seriously thinking of getting the same bundle. No reviews yet but something tells me these 2 DACs will be giant killers.

 

[indialogue]

Hi indialogue,
I have a little cash to spare and I'm seriously thinking of getting the same bundle. No reviews yet but something tells me these 2 DACs will be giant killers.

What's the hesitation

I agree that these will be interesting DACs for sure - what remains to be seen is whether they will be able to meet their shipping targets (especially for the Geek Out campaign from kickstarter). If they do not, they usually give option of pulling out with a full refund based on my other experiences with crowd funded products

Second consideration is whether these will turn out to be the giant killers that the pre-orders suggest!! Even if not, given that the other similar options would also be sight unseen purchases, I don't mind taking the risk. At worst, will flip it for a small loss here or on some other forum

 

[manniraj]

You should also consider that your money will be blocked till May 2014 and considering that $300 is not a small amount. Its risky as the product itself is not out and no reviews as yet. Just my 2 paisa...

 

[wishihadtubes]

Hesitation only because I just bought a MyDAC, which is very good - in fact perfect for needs as of now.
I don't think there will be problems with these DACs - they are being made by the same people behind the Light Harmonic DaVinci, a very highly regarded hand made DAC that costs thousands of dollars.

 

[indialogue]

You should also consider that your money will be blocked till May 2014 and considering that $300 is not a small amount. Its risky as the product itself is not out and no reviews as yet. Just my 2 paisa...

You are absolutely right, but this is the risk involved in all crowdfunded products! Caveat emptor indeed.

However, I think this risk is worthwhile personally for me because where else would I get for USD299, a ESS9018-based DAC with full DSD + 384Khz support (just in case), a 3W headphone amp, powered by an innovative DC-driven circuit? The only similar options would be the Sony PHA-1 and Fostex units which are for portable use or the Burson Conductor etc. - and all of these are in the high USD three digit to four digit range!

Hesitation only because I just bought a MyDAC, which is very good - in fact perfect for needs as of now.
I don't think there will be problems with these DACs - they are being made by the same people behind the Light Harmonic DaVinci, a very highly regarded hand made DAC that costs thousands of dollars.

Ah, I understand now. Is this the MyDAC listed a month back by an FM? For me, this is my first major DAC purchase. Hopefully, it will be good enough to make me avoid upgradeitis!

 

[wishihadtubes]

Yes it was bought from a FM but I had already narrowed down to few DACs capable of 24/192. Now the DSD capability of the Geeks and the reputation of their designer are pushing me towards picking these up. The MyDAC could always end up in a "For sale by owner" thread.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

This may be stupid, irrelevant, etc... but why does an established, reputable company need crowd-funding to launch a new product?

 

[indialogue]

This may be stupid, irrelevant, etc... but why does an established, reputable company need crowd-funding to launch a new product?

Well, its still a very small company in comparison to companies like Sony, Fostex, IAG group etc.

I don't think they really need the money - more likely that it is a good, free channel for marketing these products. Look at the buzz that their products are getting on Head-fi and other forums, in comparison to boutique competitors like Audio-GD which get a few threads here and there at best (giving this example as I was researching their products as well).

Plus they get an added benefit of pre-orders to gauge demand and pay for production design and tooling. On Kickstarter, the Geek Out got over 2000 pre-orders. The Geek Pulse (with another month to go in the campaign) has over 500 pre-orders.

 

[asliarun]

Well, its still a very small company in comparison to companies like Sony, Fostex, IAG group etc.

I don't think they really need the money - more likely that it is a good, free channel for marketing these products. Look at the buzz that their products are getting on Head-fi and other forums, in comparison to boutique competitors like Audio-GD which get a few threads here and there at best (giving this example as I was researching their products as well).

Plus they get an added benefit of pre-orders to gauge demand and pay for production design and tooling. On Kickstarter, the Geek Out got over 2000 pre-orders. The Geek Pulse (with another month to go in the campaign) has over 500 pre-orders.

That's actually a great point. What a lot of these boutique companies lack is marketing and exposure. They mainly rely on word of mouth and forums for people to "spread the good word". Forums like this for that matter!

Kickstarter is increasingly being used not just to sell a product but also to gauge consumer interest on an experimental or ambitious/risky product. Larger companies have huge market research departments. Small boutique shops now have kickstarter! Consider as an example that Canonical created a Kickstarter campaign to raise $32 million (!) for their hugely ambitious high-end Ubuntu Edge phone. Their main purpose was to understand consumer interest in such a device and Ubuntu port, and they actually managed to raise close to $13 million which is an incredible feat in itself.

On a different note, for $300 you can get this.

I'm not much of a features person (would rather compromise on features if I can get better sound quality or build quality). But the sound is quite good too!

And your money is not locked away for several months ;-)

 

[indialogue]

On a different note, for $300 you can get this.

I'm not much of a features person (would rather compromise on features if I can get better sound quality or build quality). But the sound is quite good too!

And your money is not locked away for several months ;-)

Hahaha, I had just made a point somewhere on the forum about how incomprehensible the Audio-GD site is!! Trust me, I didnt come across this option at all because after 5 mins trying to figure out the difference between NFB-11.3222 or 12.3454 (exaggerations), I had a bad headache. This is definitely a good option in the same price range -I agree with you that rarely-used features like DSD/DXD dont mean much, especially in India

 

[asliarun]

Hahaha, I had just made a point somewhere on the forum about how incomprehensible the Audio-GD site is!! Trust me, I didnt come across this option at all because after 5 mins trying to figure out the difference between NFB-11.3222 or 12.3454 (exaggerations), I had a bad headache. This is definitely a good option in the same price range -I agree with you that rarely-used features like DSD/DXD dont mean much, especially in India

Heh yes, and their English is atrocious. On a side note, I actually appreciated the fact that Kingwa admits quite frankly in emails and such that his English is not that good, and asks us to bear with him.

Looking past their bade English and the cryptic numbering, the surprising thing is that the suggestions in the various product pages (the one liners - like "musical, detailed and not dry" - is actually quite close to reality. Very little marketing fluff and no sugarcoating. For example, in the Compass series, you get the option to choose/upgrade op-amps (Sun, Moon, Earth, etc.) They actually suggest not to unnecessarily upgrade and instead try the cheaper stock version before making this decision.

Even their entry level gives you 32bit USB and 384k.

Another nice thing is that there is not too much audiophile tax. You can see the direct correlation between additional features/build/component quality and price. For example, for a $100-$200 more, you get fully balanced and discrete components. More money gets you better power supplies and more parallel circuits.

Anyway, just some personal thoughts. Maybe not everyone will agree.

 

[indialogue]

Anybody interested in ordering a Geek Pulse? They are running a promo only for existing backers like myself - 1 more Geek Pulse at USD189 + USD40 shipping (or a balanced Geek Pulse at USD 299 + USD 40 shipping - this is a great deal! Unfortunately, I have no balanced components to take advantage of this).

Happy to help someone on this if they are interested. Total cost will be USD259, which is much less than the USD 339 it will cost you as a backer now (USD 299 + USD 40 for shipping). PM if you are interested. Also please note that there are only 3 pieces left