2. digital
  3. 1142631423

Small form factor, budget DACs?

I'm trying to restore the musicality to my system, piece by piece. A few years ago my Jolida JD-602A CD player finally died and I've never really found a good replacement. I think really I've been mourning the loss and lacked the funds to get something of equal quality (since it was sort of a giant killer).

So, what can I get for < $400? Used is fine, but it has to be a compact form factor - I don't have room for another full-sized component. I think the 1/2 size form factor that Channel Islands, Musical Fidelity and Creek use is about as big as I could go.

24/96 is a plus since I have a bit of DVD-A stuff but not a necessity. I don't really have an opinion for or against oversampling, or regarding filterless DACs.

Here are the DACs that have popped up in my search so far:

$175 - Lite Audio filterless DAC
$250-400 - Ack! Dac
$200? - Creek OBH-14 - I'd have gotten one by now but I have yet to see one pop up on the used market. Probably a good sign.
$300-400? - Musical Fidelity X-24K - older DAC (circa 2000), but it looks nice and let's me stay with the appealing X-component form factor (I have an X-ACT and X-LPS now). Maybe a little overpriced - I can't help but think that for that money I could get something better
$400-600 - Channel Islands DAC - undoubtedly the best DAC on the list, but also the most expensive, so it would take the longest for me to save up the coinage.

Anything I'm missing from the list?
hudsonhawk
mwilson
430 posts
 
I highly recommend the Bel Canto DAC 1.1, at around $550 used. I owned the earlier CI DAC (your price seems to indicate the new one), and while it was pretty good, I found the Bel Canto clearly superior in all respects.

Other small form-factor DACs I have also owned:

Theta Cobalt 307: nothing special, dated

Musical Fidelity X-ACT DAC: un-musical and dull, dated, I hardly think it would improve even the oldest player

Musical Fidelity X-DAC v3: dry (perhaps "brittle") but quite detailed (like the Classe DAC-1 I briefly owned), but posessed of an impossibly annoying input-scanning "feature" that could not be disabled

I haven't tried the others on your list, but of the whole lot, if I were to do it again, I'd stick to Bel Canto or CI, and if the Creek came up cheap, I'd consider giving it a try. I know very little about the Ack!, but it might be battery-only.
hudsonhawk OP
137 posts
 
Thanks for the great response, I'll add the Bel Canto to my "watch" list. It seems to be just a little bit more that I was looking to spend

Agreed on the X-ACT - that's exactly why I want to upgrade. I find myself listening to CD the least, even though it's what I have the most of, media-wise.
hudsonhawk OP
137 posts
 
Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on the old Channel Island DAC? It seems to sell for under $300 these days, which is pretty hard to argue with. How did it compare to the other DACs on your list?
mwilson
430 posts
 
About the older CI DAC, I was well impressed with it for such a simple unit. It had reasonably good bass - not boomy, but not really in charge. It had surprising detail and presence, but it was a little bodiless through the midsection, and in comparison to DACs in the next price step, in the end a degree less detailed and spacious. The Bel Canto was palpably more lush, smooth and deep, and at the same time more in control of the bass, and more crystalline on the highs without brightness. The CI was extremely pleasing and capable - only by comparison to a costlier DAC of similarly exceptional value did it please less. Compared to the older DACs in this list, the CI was just way better.

Build quality of the CI is an example to others at the price. The Bel Canto is in the next rung of overall quality with better chassis + connectors (the RCAs on the Bel Canto being considerably more robust with thicker plating etc.) I liked the CI enough that I'd buy one again at the $225-250 or so used, but at a couple hundred more, I think the Bel Canto stands as the greater value. If I had $225-250, I'd buy the CI. If I had $500-550, I'd buy the Bel Canto. Both are great - I really liked the CI, I loved the Bel Canto. I 'd enjoy owning either (I've owned 2 of each over the years, I currently have one Bel Canto 1.1)
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
The Birdland Odeon-Ag. It's small (weighs about 3 lbs.). It has a volume control for direct connection to an amp. Absolutely stellar sound. A bit over your budget. There is one for sale right now at $795 which is a very good price if the re-clocker is installed.
More to discover