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Advice on DAC for use with speakers(balanced inputs) and headphones

sobol

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Jun 19, 2024
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Hi All

It's my first post on this excellent forum. I'm rather beginner when it comes to audio equipment and connectivity. I've researched this forum and a good portion of the internet for devices that could address my needs to no avail.

My setup:
My playback device is a Macbook Pro 16"(2021) and iPhone, I use Apple Music and Spotify(sometimes) as the music source.
The headphones I use are HiFiMan Ananda Nano and the speakers are JBL LSR305(2x) with balanced inputs XLR and ¼” TRS.
In future, I may add ~$200 turntable.

Problem
In the past when I used Asus Xonar Essence STX as a source with unbalanced cables/ports the speakers would suffer from ground loop issues and make lots of looping/popping sounds.
The headphones in theory should be fine with my MacBook but they do not get loud enough for my liking(on 1.25 volts RMS), and I'd like to be able to give them a little more juice than what the MacBook dishes out.
I'm looking for a DAC within ~$200 to use with speakers that have balanced outputs (ideally TRS) that also have a headphone amplifier.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you :)
 
Last edited:
I found a few for anybody with the same needs:

SMSL DL200
SMSL C200(now retired but still can be found at few sites)

Topping A30 pro ( higher budget )
 
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