DACs to look out for

Discussion in 'Hi-Fi and General Audio' started by PBirkett, Jul 16, 2004.

  1. PBirkett

    PBirkett VTEC Addict

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    I want to know if there are any DACs to keep an eye out for, preferably under £400, that will offer a bit more refinement, full bodied, fast, punchy, lively sound that isnt boring is preferable - that doesnt mean it has to be really bright though! :)

    I reckon a good one would probably sound a fair bit better than my soundcard, yes?
     
    PBirkett, Jul 16, 2004
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  2. PBirkett

    MO! MOnkey`ead!

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    Do we get to laugh at you upgrading again now, or do we wait till you've bought something? :p :p :p
     
    MO!, Jul 16, 2004
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  3. PBirkett

    I-S Good Evening.... Infidel

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    Paul - you heard the M-audio superDAC at my place, which is going to be one that would be suggested by a few others I suspect. Modded, it's probably as close to what you describe IMO...

    You've had a cambridge, so I'm guessing you don't wish to take that route again.

    MF I imagine wouldn't do what you're asking...

    You might possibly get a bottom-end wadia in tatty condition, but you'll have to keep eyes out.

    Audio Alchemy DDE series are out there for that money.

    Tag DAC20 probably won't give you the sound you want.
     
    I-S, Jul 16, 2004
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  4. PBirkett

    I-S Good Evening.... Infidel

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    Oh, and btw, Making Waves have the M-audio Audiophile 2496 for £56 new. £64 delivered inc vat.
     
    I-S, Jul 16, 2004
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  5. PBirkett

    Will The Lucky One

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    Holy cheap high quality sound card batman :eek: thats a steal at that price!
     
    Will, Jul 16, 2004
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  6. PBirkett

    Lt Cdr Data om

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    pink triangle da capo meant to be good. bit long in the tooth now. same designer as cambridge dac...john westlake. better tho'
     
    Lt Cdr Data, Jul 16, 2004
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  7. PBirkett

    dominicT former member

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    Or get a better soundcard - the EMU carsd are meant to have the same converters as the Digidesign (ProTools). If so then bargain of the century. I have not heard them but they had a review in soundonsound magazine. I would also recommend the RME cards (with off board converters) these are considered by many to outperform the MAudio cards. You could also look at the Soundscape Mixtreme. My model is four years old and sounds very good - much better than the MAudio Audiophile that I have just bought for my i-Book. The reason for telling you this is because i think that Soundscape are about to or have launched new soundcards which means that the original Mixtreme will be sold off cheaply; but you could always look at one of the new models. Soundscape is not the first name on most peoples lips because Soundscape products are normally only used in the high end pro world such as in broadcasting. Mixtreme is their an entry level product.

    Dominic
     
    dominicT, Jul 16, 2004
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  8. PBirkett

    BlueMax

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    I rushed over to https://www.makingwavesaudio.com/ and found this:

    M AUDIO AUDIOPHILE 2496 PCI is £56.4
    But the stand alone unit M AUDIO SUPERDAC 24/96 is still £161.69

    There are two other stand alone models.
    M AUDIO AUDIOPHILE 2496 USB £130.00 + VAT £22.75 = £152.75
    M AUDIO AUDIOPHILE FIREWIRE £170.20 + VAT £29.79 = £199.99

    Any views?
     
    BlueMax, Jul 17, 2004
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  9. PBirkett

    PBirkett VTEC Addict

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    I did consider the EMU, Dominic, although there are some suggestions that it sounds a little "slow" but I dont know how true that is, but its a pretty well favoured soundcard, overall on headfi. Thanks for the other suggestions, I am also possibly looking at an RME Hammerfall HDSP 9632 as thats meant to be a very dynamic performer.

    Then there is the SuperDAC, but if I got that I would want it modded I think. The M-Audio Audiophile soundcard however, certainly would be no upgrade on my present card - if anything, it may even be worse.
     
    PBirkett, Jul 17, 2004
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  10. PBirkett

    MikeD Militant Nutter

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    i'm happy enough with my SuperDAC in stock form (shock:horror) :D
     
    MikeD, Jul 17, 2004
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  11. PBirkett

    BlueMax

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    Wait till you catch the Upgrade Bug :D

    Upgrade Bug is infectious and can anyone unhappy.
    Hi Fi mags and Hi Fi forums are the usual carriers of this bug against which there is no vaccine. :eek:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 17, 2004
    BlueMax, Jul 17, 2004
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  12. PBirkett

    BlueMax

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    Or get this beauty from Xindak for around £250 from China
    [​IMG]
    Xindak DAC-3 use Delta digital interface, solely developed by XINDAK, which transfers and upgrades 16Bit/44.1KHz digital signal of common CD to 24Bit/96KHz, and then decodes 24Bit/96KHz to improve quality of sound.
     
    BlueMax, Jul 17, 2004
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  13. PBirkett

    PBirkett VTEC Addict

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    I've seen that on ebay, did wonder about it, seems like a very big gamble to take considering I guess nobody knows what its like. It looks nice enough, but thats no guarantee of whether it'll sound good.
     
    PBirkett, Jul 17, 2004
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  14. PBirkett

    BlueMax

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    Yes true. Products from Chinese companies are unknown quantity for us now.

    Xindak has an website in english at
    http://www.xindakaudio.com/en/

    Looks like an old and established company with a modern factory.
    Claims "XINDAK is awarded the 'The most favourite acoustic brand by reader' by 'AV PHLIE' in 2003".

    There are Hong Kong based dealers who can supply at prices cheaper than at eBay.
     
    BlueMax, Jul 17, 2004
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  15. PBirkett

    Will The Lucky One

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    Well I recall at the time I was looking for a sound card upgrade, the PCI Audiophile 24/96 was around £130, so for £55 odd it is cheap (not worth an upgrade for me really though, my sound card is IIRC very similar to Paul's EWX, so its not worth bothering with reallysince the Audiophile/DMX6Fire/EWX are all fairly similar in performance and usually price).

    Which is better of those that you mention, out of the firewire/PCI/USB ones, well I don't exactly know, the external ones will benefit from less EMI interference as a computer case is rather poor for that, but then I expect both have greater cpu usage than the PCI version which would reduce performance for recording somewhat - not noticeable for playback though really. Swings and roundabouts :)
     
    Will, Jul 17, 2004
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  16. PBirkett

    I-S Good Evening.... Infidel

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    The layout and construction of the xindak looks very good, especially for the prices that they attract. How it sounds is a complete unknown though, and we all know that you can put together a great bunch of bits and not have them gel.

    If I get over to HK sometime I might pick one up.
     
    I-S, Jul 17, 2004
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  17. PBirkett

    IndyAudi

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    Paul,

    I have a couple of Art DI/O's new in boxes for sale,these are original New Yorker models (not made in ROC).
    http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1201/anmeetsdio.htm
    http://home.ca.inter.net/~cfraser/DIOFAQ.htm
    http://gnu.295.ca/peak/audio.html

    If your interested you can mail me at [email protected]

    Woof. . Woof. ! 'could you please pass the Winalot' ;)
     
    IndyAudi, Jul 17, 2004
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  18. PBirkett

    Tenson Moderator

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    I'd suggest you ask about it at www.echoloft.com - A S'pore based Hi-Fi forum who's users would likely have experiance with it. Personally I'd take the gamble.
     
    Tenson, Jul 17, 2004
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  19. PBirkett

    msageryd

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    msageryd, Jul 20, 2004
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  20. PBirkett

    Tenson Moderator

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    I have heard very good things about the Benchmark DAC-1
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 21, 2004
    Tenson, Jul 20, 2004
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