Cutthroat has provided very good advise. A DAC with the right compatibility to your system and 'flavor' for your tastes could be purchased for ~$500.
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I recently bought a Schiit Bifrost Multibit and am very satisfied with it. I did not compare it to more expensive DACs since I didn’t have the budget for those. This chart (and other research) prior to purchasing the Bifrost Multibit (aka Bimby) helped lead me to pick this particular DAC. The chart ranks this DAC higher than many other DACs costing a lot more, so I think I got pretty good bank for the buck. I got the Bifrost direct from Schiit as a B stock item and saved myself $100. It looks and behaves totally new, and sounded even better after some burn-in time. https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/marveys-dac-chart-of-awesomeness.63/ |
Hi audiomaze I am going to hammer away at this, sorry Folks. Please, please do research modern DSP (Digital Sound Processing) and/or find someone highly skilled at modern applications of it. ANY downside is overwhelmingly overtaken by the amazing upsides, including maybe adding some tube warmth (my preference with any digital source) or whatever your flavor preferences. Something as moderately priced such as this DAC, for example, using relatively free Reaper & Foobar software can generate astoundingly great sound in a good system: https://www.amazon.com/Headphone-Amplifier-Portable-SABRE9018Q2C-Screen/product-reviews/B073SSNMKK/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews I am an old hobbyist...and can understand old school mindsets...the less in the audio chain the better. That said, DSP has taken this sound to levels never imagined given my skills and audio budget, thanks to my sound engineer 3,000 miles away, who has spent years refining his knowledge and abilities. See other my other posts. If you have the budget and it is your preference to improve your sound by upgrading gear, I'm fully on-board with that! However, audiomaze began this thread in stating he has a 10+ year old dac and wants to move forward. There are ways today with a small budget. Check the specs on this portable dac (and others) for example vs your dac. We live in exciting audio times! More Peace, Pinthrift |
Try a Theta ProBasic III. Old school R2R ladder DAC. Was like $2000 back in the day and I got mine for $500 plus shipping. "Product Details/Highlights... When it was introduced, the DS Pro set the standard for digital playback, making it into Class A of Stereophile's recommended components. The DS Pro was...the first software-based digital processor, employing Motorola 56001 DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chips. All the DSPro Basic's electronics are carried on a single printed circuit board, separated into digital and analog sections. The unit has two separate power supplies, one for the digital section and one for analog circuitry. The digital supply consists of a transformer, rectifier, two 4700µF filter caps, and a large heat-sunk regulator in a TO-3 package. The analog supply is more elaborate, with a similar transformer, two rectifiers, and four 2200µF filter caps. Additional analog power-supply components are located at the other end of the PCB, next to the DACs and analog output stage. Six voltage regulators are used in the analog supply, but not the typical TO-220 type found in most digital processors. Instead, they are small round metal cans which, according to DSPro Basic designer Mike Moffat, offer superior sound over the less expensive and easier-to-implement TO-220s. The digital section features the ubiquitous Yamaha YM3623B 16-bit S/PDIF decoder, along with a few chips whose markings were painted over. The Yamaha decoder extracts the clock information from the signal with an internal phase-locked loop (PLL), strips out the subcode, demultiplexes left and right audio, and sends the data to the next processing stage. The wire carrying the digital data stream from the RCA input jack to the digital board was carefully chosen for its sonic virtues. This low-propagation delay wire was suggested by Dave Magnan, maker of the highly regarded Magnan Type V interconnects. According to Mike Moffat's listening tests, even this short (3") piece of wire carrying ones and zeros affects the processor's sound. Other design aspects of the DSPro Basic include careful attention to timing relationships and clock signals to avoid jitter, an input circuit to keep RF out, and minimizing ground-plane noise." For the price, very worth checking out. Thanks for listening, Dsper |
I can highly recommend the Bryston BDA-1 in your price range. Used Bryston BDA-1s are currently going for $500-$700. This was a $2000 piece when it first came out some 10 years ago and is still capable of delivering quality sound. I had one in my main rig from 2014 until quite recently. I upgraded because its USB input was limited to 44K, but its coax, toslink and AES/EBU inputs are quite capable, but if you need higher resolution USB or support for DSD, you will need to look elsewhere. |
I’ve recently tried a few DACs in the under $1k range. Topping d50, Sabja D5, Schiit multibit uber(already owned) ADI-2 DAC. I’m keeping the ADI. They all sounded similar. Topping d50 a bit lean and not too much depth of the soundstage. Tried different filters, power sources, etc... Schiit Bifrost nice tone and good resolution. Sabaj D5 pretty much the same as the ADI, but the menus were in 1pt font, the knob felt a bit fiddly (as in might break at some point) not a lot of history of company if something goes wrong in the future. ADI-2 DAC a bit more resolution, a peq that can be adjusted for each channel, solid build, headphone amp with selectable filters and eq separate from the line out or the in ear monitor output. And the filters actually sound different. A long history of the company in audio (mastering products) Harmony remote link, so you can change parameters from the comfort of your comfy chair ;) . it is a bit of a stretch of your budget, but it may be worth a look. |
Try out this one, one of the few that really plays music unlike most hifi-dac`s https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DEQ2496--behringer-ultracurve-pro-deq2496 |
I am curious about this Behringer ultracurve, a bit intimidated by the user manual tough, and a bit interrogatively careful about the new noise that this new gear will introduce, but perhaps the pay-off would be the fun to play... I would put it between my computer and my dac...I will certainly buy one someday...If someone has experience with this and a dac I will listen to him... My best... |
A used Ayre Codex will smoke just about anything out there, and for a bit more than $1K, I believe it one of the best performers out there for the money. A Schiit Yggy or Gungnir would be a close second. I owned the Modi, and Bifrost, and can say you really have to move up the line in order to enjoy the sound quality benefits.-Though Schiit demurs from categorizing models sound-wise, they do seem to know/price their products accordingly. Bob |
Audio mirror use a lot of junk look at Chinese connectors cheap sink , Elna silver selector switches night and day better fr $40then $3 junk zinc part cheap Chinese $15 transformer ,not good , grounding also mentioned into question ,UL approved -I doubt it . i almost bought it Lamoizator Amber 3 night and day better and tube rectifier not 50 cent diode and UL ,EU apprioved for $2750 best sounding dac $6k or under. Look at 5 star review enjoy the music .com then hesr it for yourself. |
Audio mirror use a lot of junk...I was looking at DACs and the Audio Mirror looked nice, lots of folks talking about the great sound, etc. But I did see a few people open them up and do and "what for" and it was not so flattering. I ended up with something else because of those blogs, so if you're thinking about Audio Mirror you may want to look for those to help you make up your mind. That info may sway you, it may not. |
