shortlisting dac's under $1000

[jenson]

Hi Guys, i'm planning to add a Dac in my chain instead of an expensive CD player as it seems I would be moving toward external HDD as a medium for playback

i know I would need a interface between HDD and Dac, would love to hear options on same as well, as I don't want a full blown PC or lap top in chain...somehow, I feel they are noisy.

I have shortlisted the obvious ones here...would love to hear your impressions on ones you have experience with...

NAD D 1050 USB DAC
TEAC - UD-501 DUAL MONO DSD DAC
PS AUDIO - NUWAVE DAC
MUSICAL FIDELITY - M1 DAC A
Schiit audio bifrost/Gungir
Benchmark Dac 1

i'm as usual doing my research on the internet as well..

thanks for everyones time..

 

[dheerajin]

Hi Guys, i'm planning to add a Dac in my chain instead of an expensive CD player as it seems I would be moving toward external HDD as a medium for playback

i know I would need a interface between HDD and Dac, would love to hear options on same as well, as I don't want a full blown PC or lap top in chain...somehow, I feel they are noisy.

I have shortlisted the obvious ones here...would love to hear your impressions on ones you have experience with...

NAD D 1050 USB DAC
TEAC - UD-501 DUAL MONO DSD DAC
PS AUDIO - NUWAVE DAC
MUSICAL FIDELITY - M1 DAC A
Schiit audio bifrost/Gungir
Benchmark Dac 1

i'm as usual doing my research on the internet as well..

thanks for everyones time..

Schiit products are sold without any dealer margin, so they are best in the same price category. My suggestion is to go for Gungnir, which is having zero jitter management, which other DACs in that price range not. On 15th there is a meet for audiolab DAC which fits into your budget and you can have audition also..check for this link-
http://www.hifivision.com/av-lounge/53075-audiolab-mini-meet-mumbai-interest-check.html
Cheers

Dheeraj

 

[reignofchaos]

For an under 1k DAC, please put the metrum octave in your list as well.

Also what to you like in the sound of a daxc or rather what kind of sound do you feel will make you happy? What kind of music do you listen to? Does your collection have 16/44 or high res as well? Do you care for DSD streaming?

 

[jenson]

hi RoC, I must confess, last part of your question went bouncer..

80% of my collection is in CD format, ripped in wav format as well for backup.

im expecting a dac to make each instrument stand out and ring cohesively. I also expect it to contribute to a wide soundstage/depth and imaging.

I think I like my sound musical...as when I was demoing for my stereo setup, I ended up appreciating the genelecs/revels et al, but was not moved to buy them. Cadence was not even in the list when bhagwan asked I try it out; and boom. the best system I have heard is that of Suresh @ churchgate (maggies/canasya).

so, does that make me someone who wouldn't appreciate what you call "clinical" sound in dac's..? isn't the sound all about the system too..? so im confused there as I don't want ot miss out of details at the cost of being musical and viz a viz..

music I listen to:
Jazz (guitar, sax, harmonica based primarily.)
rock (everything between jeff buckley to floyd, simple minds to oasis, radiohead, r.e.m to gorillaz, panic at the disco, scissor sisters, George Michael to Detroit cobras et al)
Electronica/house : Bjork, Royksopp, massive attack, basement jazz, portishead et al
folktronica tunng,blizten trappen, beth orton
hip hop: notorious big, ice cube and likes.
trance: bodhisattva, logic bomb, ocelot and likes..
metal: wll, metal
Carnatic - recently delved into this genre. loving it
indian classical: tabla & santoor based primarily..


I basically listen to everything except DDLJ kinds. love rahman though.

 

[jenson]

I must add, am not too hung up about it being future proof et al. I just want something decently built and does the job intended...im very well aware there'd be always a better thing out there for that additional $150...I don't get worked up with that..

I also don't intend to buy high res files. my source would be primarily CD format and or wav downloads if at all they discard CDS altogether!!

 

[hemantwaghe]

80% of my collection is in CD format, ripped in wav format as well for backup.

How many CD's you have? Roughly?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I hate to say this, because I really don't approve (I posted somewhere about encouraging the madness of through-the-roof-sample rates) but at a bit more than half your budget (no idea of price in India) it might be worth considering the if iDSD Micro.

It will cover you for all the sample rates that anyone is likely to dream up for a while and has many advanced features courtesy of parent company AMR (ask RoC ). It looks like it is likely to handle the range of sample rates well; it has built-in power purification and even ...a battery: you can use it as a portable!

You can find out about it on ifi's hype-marketing thread on Headfi. You can bet that, after swallowing all that hype, nobody on headfi is ever going to hate it. Flavour of the month.

Heck, it sounds like I'm trying to put people off! Actually no... I don't like the way ifi did that hype marketing, and I don't like the the hype[r] sample rate thing either, but I have an ifi iCAN and I suspect them of making good products! :lol:

 

[jenson]

How many CD's you have? Roughly?

not much...probably under 500...and some 100+ LP's..

it might be worth considering the if iDSD Micro.

I suspect them of making good products! :lol:

LOL will check em out too. I would have to rely on reviews and recommendations..

 

[hemantwaghe]

not much...probably under 500...and some 100+ LP's..



LOL will check em out too. I would have to rely on reviews and recommendations..

With so many CD's i fail to understand why you insulted your system with that lousy DVD player so long?

I really thought u r aLP person with 1000-2000 LP collection

My suggestion is buy a 400 - 500 $ CDP esp iif searched you get some deals. Esp sometimes on Pro or Studio stuff ...

 

[jenson]

With so many CD's i fail to understand why you insulted your system with that lousy DVD player so long?

I really thought u r aLP person with 1000-2000 LP collection

My suggestion is buy a 400 - 500 $ CDP esp iif searched you get some deals. Esp sometimes on Pro or Studio stuff ...

I know! I like to take things step at a time as budget permits...

regarding cd players...im hoping to get a oppo player which I have heard does a decent job...

but I guess Dac would do a much better job in same price category...?

 

[dheerajin]

My take on this..

DAC is something that is quiet hard to differentiate with different system synergy(preamp+amp+speakers+player)..my experience says..that to differentiate between two DACs..it is better to follow with headphone junkies..they are in much better position to tell you the the better DACs...please search on net and you will be surprised to know some other DACs as well..so..just dig into that.
I am into some different league..if you can see my signature..every component is best in cheapest category..means bang for a buck..YMMV..

I know! I like to take things step at a time as budget permits...

regarding cd players...im hoping to get a oppo player which I have heard does a decent job...

but I guess Dac would do a much better job in same price category...?

 

[asliarun]

You can also consider Audio GD DACs. The NFB-2 (short for No-Feedback) for example.

I have been using a slightly different model and I quite like the sound. It is musical and smooth, and works well for most types of music. Or so I think!

Anyway, I only mentioned this DAC because they ship directly from China to everywhere in the world. Hence, accessibility and price is the same for you as for anyone else in the world.

This brand is not well known compared to other established brands, but if you search online, you can see feedback from many users. My experience has also been good - not just with the product but also with customer service.

On a different note, I have been thinking that a good strategy to get a DAC to play back CD (ripped) music would be to get an old but high end DAC at a reasonable price. Most DACs nowadays are focusing more on features and supporting insane bitrate formats rather than sound quality and analog implementation.

 

[dheerajin]

Audio GD...dacs are the current rage..and what Asliarun is telling is also asli true...but the fact is that..no one tries to believe on chinese product...but people are liking them because of their analog sound..and it is worth compared to western Dacs..but i would still maintain my position for Schiit...YMMV..

 

[Naturelover]

Hope you are going for the Audiolab mini meet. The M-DAC is well worth considering. I believe Santy will be bringing his Teac UD501 as well.

 

[sidvee]

Ley me recommend the Arcam irdac. For its price i.e Rs 50k it sounds excellent.
Cheers,
Sid