Audiophiles around here? Who is using a DAC?

[alexh]

I've been away from Head-Fi for a long time, since they changed the theme actually. From what I remember, Little Dot, Schiit, Fiio (as mentioned), and Nuforce were very well-regarded. If you want to build something insane, I remember many people building the Gamma 2 which likely remains one of the highest-end DACs on the market. The Nuforce uDAC is a great choice though, it's relatively inexpensive, sounds great, and supports 96kHz/24bit over USB. They also make a small amp called the Icon which isn't as inexpensive, but would fit your needs. Reviews:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/nuforce-icon-hdp-high-end-headphone-amp-usb-dac-preamp

http://www.head-fi.org/products/nuforce-icon-udac-3-high-resolution-usb-digital-audio-converter-dac-silver

Another good choice for a small T-class amp: http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/trends_ta10_e.html

 

[drmike]

I received the DAC I ordered today from a small single operator in Canada, ehh.

The DAC Destroyer is the name of the product.  I liked that the guy self manufacturers/assembles by hand and has been doing so since at least 2008.

Plugged it into Linux, changed one config file for ALSA.  Had to self-find and perfect this on my lonesome.

Been playing audio - random recordings for hours.  Using my Altec Lansing nothing special computer speakers [yeah reference speakers on a shopping list]/

What a world of difference.  Incredibly rich sound.  Totally f'n awesome.

+10 for DACs in general.

 

[Shados]

I can speak to Schiit being pretty awesome; I bought the Gungnir & Mjollnir combo last year after having the chance to try them out locally, very happy with them so far :3. 

 

[trewq]

After this thread planting the idea in my head of getting speakers for my desk (I only have generic headphones currently) I have ordered the following.

https://voll.com.au/shop/b44/

https://voll.com.au/shop/topping-tp23/

These speakers are the same as http://www.amazon.com/Micca-MB42X-Bookshelf-Speakers-Tweeter/dp/B00E7H8GG2 except for "small differences". Voll can't claim them to be the same even though they are from the same factory due to copyright.

Thanks @drmike... Now I'm going to be spending money trying out different DACs and speakers.

 

[drmike]

@trewq Nice kit.

You caught the limitations on that amp right ?

"Please Note: The TP23 and B44 combination is only suitable for nearfield listening or listening in a small room and low sound levels. To avoid distortion at higher sound levels a more powerful amplifier is recommended for our B44 speakers such as our Topping TP22 or these alternatives"

So won't be a boom system but fine for normal listening.

Topping is on my short list actually, so share your experience when it comes in and you have some time testing it.

I am still looking for some bookshelf speakers and an amp (minus the DAC functionality though).

Enjoying my DAC.  Listening with it now in headphones

 

[trewq]

You caught the limitations on that amp right ?

Yeah, I got that. This is just my starting point

Topping is on my short list actually, so share your experience when it comes in and you have some time testing it.

Will do. I'm pretty excited, road shipping was free so I'll be waiting another week for them to show up.

 

[drmike]

Yeah, I got that. This is just my starting point

Will do. I'm pretty excited, road shipping was free so I'll be waiting another week for them to show up.

I only mentioned that gotcha because there are so many oh I overlooked that thing with this stuff.

 

[pcan]

With 60 Hz cutoff there is no need for a powerful amplifier, because most of the sound energy is on the (missing) low frequency range. I once had a 15+15w amp on a similar small bookshelf setup, but with a much higher 89dB sensitivity, and the power level was not the worst limitation.
The TA2021B power IC has a "audiophile" maximum power of 13+13W over 4 ohm, see here:




The b44+tp23 combination seems to be a good start. It is better to have less watts and a good sound at moderate listening volume, than lots of watts with bad sound at any volume.

 

[trewq]

The b44+tp23 combination seems to be a good start. It is better to have less watts and a good sound at moderate listening volume, than lots of watts with bad sound at any volume.

That's what I was thinking. I wasn't looking to spend heaps on this set up. I think I've got the value for money vs quality of sound at equilibrium.

 

[blergh]

Thanks @drmike... Now I'm going to be spending money trying out different DACs and speakers.

You won't hear any difference between them, really.

 

[pcan]

The difference between DACs is subtle and is mostly unnoticed on a low-end system, but the difference between speakers can be huge even at entry-point prices. The issue with Hi-Fi is exactly this: technical specifications are important, but they still don't cover the full picture. On my experience, this is absolutely true for the speaker's choice. Speakers are influenced by the room acoustic properties. Unless you have a purposely built room (tricky and expensive to make), even little emission differences can result in huge sound variations from one speaker model to the other with supposedly identical electrical specification. The same speaker can also perform differently at home from the sound you heard on the shop. It is difficult to choose a Hi-Fi upgrade by purely sitting at the computer while browsing technical documentations or product reviews.

Back to the original question: most class T power amplifiers, expecially all Tripath 2021B based ones, have a strong preference towards 4 ohm speakers (see the graph above), usually installed on smaller bookshelf systems. Most full range Hi-Fi speakers have 8 ohm impedence instead. This means: at next upgrade, probably @trewq will need to replace both speakers and amplifier at once. It can replace the amplifier first, but I would avoid replacing the speakers with a upper level product while keeping a TA2021B-based amplifier.

 

[drmike]

The difference between DACs is subtle and is mostly unnoticed on a low-end system, but the difference between speakers can be huge even at entry-point prices. 

The DAC has been a big improvement over my built in sound cards.  That's using the same desktop speakers I always have.

It's not really improved with the headphones I have though and their limited range.

DACs certainly work unless:

1. You already have a very good sound card.

2. Your audio output speakers or headphones stink on range.

I am interested in DACs for FLAC and similar good recordings that are already much richer than average recorded horror most people listen to.

Also grabbing DACs for ARM devices that are either soundless or typically we bind a cheap USB soundcard to that is blah.  Raspberry Pi's are notorious for blah sound quality and I use them also for projects.

So far, rather happy.   Next is a modest amp and studio reference speakers bookshelf style.  Nothing exotic, just much better kit.