suggest a DAC for M audio bx5a.

[dhawald3]

Suggest a DAC for M-Audio BX5Aa

Hi there,

I am planning to get my first budget hifi stereo setup.

Based on reviews I have decided to go for the M Audio Bx5a D2.

I will use them primarily for music listening and in the future I plan to make music using a keyboard and soft synth on my pc.

please suggest me a DAC to be used with these speakers which I can get in India or can be shipped to India.

what about
Xonar essence STX card

or is Musical Fidelity V-DAC available here?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

You just missed a nearly-new one for sale here. The buyer bought it from Divine Audio in UK Shortly afterwards, I bought a V-LPS II phono stage from the same company.

It was a good buying experience, minus-VAT plus-shipping coming to less than the UK home-trade price (assuming the small package slips through customs: I was lucky) ... but the exchange rate has turned against us since then.

However...

As you are looking to make music, why a DAC? A DAC is a one-way street: you are going to want to record and to handle midi connections.

I think you need a soundcard/interface. You could start looking at M-Audio's offerings, but there are several others too.

Consider your dream studio. Consider what you might want to hook up, and how.

Then consider your budget, and see how much of that is possible. Within reason, go for as much future proofing as possible.

Even if you are only going to listen to music for a while, when you come to want to do more, money spent on a mere DAC will have been wasted.

 

[dhawald3]

As you are looking to make music, why a DAC? A DAC is a one-way street: you are going to want to record and to handle midi connections.

I think you need a soundcard/interface. You could start looking at M-Audio's offerings, but there are several others too.

.

how is the audio out of these sound card interfaces for music listening compared to Dedicated DACs.

also I can use the USB midi enabled keyboards for connecting with my PC.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

At this point it might be as much about religion as anything else

Mine is computer-audio, whether it is inside or outside the machine --- but the tidal wave of belief is in the DAC. A tidal wave which, I suspect, began with an earthquake in a marketing office: "Guys! See this sound card? We can cut the functionality by 75%, put it in a case with a power supply, add two zeros to the price and ... sell it as hifi!"

On the other hand, I also have a philosophy of not paying for extras I don't want and won't use, so, for the purely listening situation, I could go with that point of view --- and buy the DAC!

I've never been in a just-listening situation: I've always wanted recording as well. To me, a DAC is only half the deal (or 25%, if you are ever going to use both input and output both digital and analogue.)

The only absolute I know is that the first semi-pro soundcard I put in a PC effortlessly outdid my CD player in analogue output. The sound card wasn't cheap --- but it was 1/3rd the price of the CD player.

Then, I had a complex system including turntable, CD, cassette, MiniDisk deck, inputs for I/O from portables. It included a box for switching I/O on tape loop between, I think, three, of those options. One of those loops was the PC.

Now I have a very simple hifi of just amp with CD player and squeezebox (because I can't run a cable from the PC). If I used the squeezebox a lot, I'd probable consider a better external DAC, and a DAC would be the box for the job. Anything connected to do with the PC, though, I would not even consider a DAC.

I have not given you a straight answer to your question, because I can't. I can only say that there is nothing to fear in buying a good DAC/ADC audio interface. What kind of interface would depend on your needs, and would be a journey of discovery for you.

 

[dhawald3]

So how about buying the M-Audio Fast track pro

M-AUDIO - Fast Track Pro - 4 x 4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps

will it be comparable to HiFi DACs? in similar price range.

it will also provide me with the MIDI inputs I need.