Budget USB DAC

Thanks for the replies. I saw the review on Stereo Link in the NY Times. I think they are backlogged because of that article.

Fubar II needs an external power supply? Guess I thought it was usb powered. I'll check out their web site again.

The Thingee sounds interesting for the price. I have surfed their web site before. Looks like you can config it the way you would like as far as connections.

I'll keep looking. Wish one of these would show up here on A'gon from someone that upgraded to a higher priced unit.

The Blue Circle Thingee is on back order too. Just like the Stereo Link. Angela from BC linked me to a dealer in IL.

I've checked the Hagerman web site before. Forgot to mention them. I've built kits before Kbuzz .. a Dynaco 410 amp. No problem soldering but it has been a while.

Riffer ... this is from the Blue Circle web site:

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The USB Thingee

No, it doesn't have a tube in it. The tube is just for a visual reference.

The "USB Thingee" allows you to plug into your computer to access music files, internet radio and even DVD.

It can be used with the internal 24 bit DAC and output via headphone or line level to your stereo. For maximum sound quality you can use an external DAC via SPDTF or AES/EBU output.

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It does have analog L/R RCA output jacks, and a headphone jack. Am I missing "maximum sound quality"?

You are correct Riffer. I just went back in and re-read the UHF review on the Thingee. They were running the signal to another DAC.

Think I'll just go out and spend $20 on a Xitel HiFi-Link™ Audio Processor and be done with it.

I'm getting a Blue Circle USB Thingee. This is the info I got from the Blue Circle dealer:

The DAC in the Blue Circle USB Thingee can most certainly be used in lieu of an external DAC. In the UHF review they seemed to focus primarily on using the USB Thingee as an alternative to a dedicated CD transport or CD player. The reason why many folks have used this approach is they can take advantage of the added convenience that the computer-based system provides (large library of music online).

From an audible perspective the integrated 24-bit DAC in the USB Thingee is quite good. In terms of noise floor & overall sound quality it is a noteworthy improvement over the typical soundcard in the PC.

I'll do an update next week after I've had a few nights with the USB Thingee doing some comparissons. I'm sure it's going to be much better than the Soundcard to pre-amp connection I'm using now. I'll be sure to use the ASIO driver also. (I have a PC not a Mac.)

Oh no problem Riffer. This is a learning process for all of us.

I'm planning on doing an A/B/C comparison of Wav, Apple lossless, and my normal ~320k or VBR files.

I have the Blue Circle USB Thingee up and running. I am running off the headphone jack into my preamp.

Initial impression is awesome for the money I spent. A lot of dynamaic range, really clean bass. I have not begun the A/B/C testing yet.

I can understand why UHF mag ran it into another DAC, to get more gain out of the unit. It runs fine in stand-alone mode though.

I got a gold palted 3ft USB cable (from the Shack) to go from the puter to the Thingee. I'll replace the headphone cable later on, or switch to the RCA jacks.

Make sure you set all your volumes in the system settings on your PC to the max.

It truly is ALL in the music!

May 2008 review of BC USB Thingee.

http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/blue_circle_usb_thingee.htm