I've been diving deeply into desktop audio & headphone listening for the past 1-2 years. In that connection, I've used 2 DACs that impressed me greatly, albeit for very different reasons:
1 - Peachtree Audio DAC iTx: It may be inexpensive (~$300 list), but this humble little box, complete w/remote control, outperformed every other DAC and/or CD player I've heard over the years. w/o delving into technicalities, let's just say that it sounded more natural, less bright/sibilant, and was altogether more listenable than any other device I've used. It also has great input flexibility, being able to rapidly switch via remote control from USB to optical to coax input. I'm fed it via the coax input, which sounds best to me (courtesy of a Musical Fidelity 192/24 V-Link & Oyaide RCA coax cable--the latter highly recommended).
2 - Audio GD NOS-19: It cost ~$1,000. Audio GD is a Chinese high-end company that gets much love in the headphone community. This DAC is one of 2 resistor ladder (R2-D) units they make. You'll have to do some reading on R2-D DACs, if you're not familiar with the term. My version of their R2-D DAC is non-oversampling (thus "NOS" in the model name), and is easily the best digital I've ever heard--relaxed, natural, analogue-like. Again, I use the coax input, which sounds best.
Both DACs are highly recommended.
By the way, I also own one of Audio GD's "all-in-one" products (combination of preamp, headphone amp, and DAC), the NFB-15.32. It's also very competent and good for what it does...
Note that'll I'll soon upgrade my S/PDIF convertor from the MF unit to a much touted new Chinese unit. This will only matter to those who obtain their signal from a computer via USB.
1 - Peachtree Audio DAC iTx: It may be inexpensive (~$300 list), but this humble little box, complete w/remote control, outperformed every other DAC and/or CD player I've heard over the years. w/o delving into technicalities, let's just say that it sounded more natural, less bright/sibilant, and was altogether more listenable than any other device I've used. It also has great input flexibility, being able to rapidly switch via remote control from USB to optical to coax input. I'm fed it via the coax input, which sounds best to me (courtesy of a Musical Fidelity 192/24 V-Link & Oyaide RCA coax cable--the latter highly recommended).
2 - Audio GD NOS-19: It cost ~$1,000. Audio GD is a Chinese high-end company that gets much love in the headphone community. This DAC is one of 2 resistor ladder (R2-D) units they make. You'll have to do some reading on R2-D DACs, if you're not familiar with the term. My version of their R2-D DAC is non-oversampling (thus "NOS" in the model name), and is easily the best digital I've ever heard--relaxed, natural, analogue-like. Again, I use the coax input, which sounds best.
Both DACs are highly recommended.
By the way, I also own one of Audio GD's "all-in-one" products (combination of preamp, headphone amp, and DAC), the NFB-15.32. It's also very competent and good for what it does...
Note that'll I'll soon upgrade my S/PDIF convertor from the MF unit to a much touted new Chinese unit. This will only matter to those who obtain their signal from a computer via USB.