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Audiophonics DA-S250NC DAC & Power Amp Review

Rate this Amplifier and DAC:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 6 2.3%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 20 7.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 169 64.5%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 67 25.6%

  • Total voters
    262

Talisman

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Is it just me but in many cases european audio products look like assembled DIY project? Is there anything beside enclosure design that was engineered by audiophonics? DAC board is something I`d probably seen on aliexpress...
Try Atoll products, a real company that makes products with discrete components, I'm sure you will be absolutely satisfied....
 

Waxx

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To be honest, I think we don't deserve Audiophonics.

Countless cool and top performing home made DIY gadgets for a fair price with instructions and honest specs.
Is the to-go adress for super high performaning ChiFi if you don't want to go through Shenzhenaudio.

Incredible fast shipping in Europe and has a super nice loyalty points policy that can be transformed into direct price reductions for new orders.

They are godsend for ASR-folks in Europe.
Cosign actually. I bought stuff for myself and others on that site, including this amp for my neighbour (a tech-noob who just want good sound from her laptop) and everybody is very happy with those. This amp is very easy to use and just sounds very good and is solid build. That is what count for most.

I own a hypex amp build from them, and i'm going to order some more of their hypex amps i think. And many others that i know who use those are also very hapyy with it. It's cheap, for a very high quality in sound, and you don't loose money on a very fancy case (that we don't need) like with most brands... And if you want a fancy design, there are enough brands who serve you that, most just want something that delivers and is easy to use and configure. At the end, a Nad M22 or M10 or M23 is also just a hypex or purifi amp in a fancy package. I don't want to pay 2.5K or even more for that fancy package actually, so i'm happy that someone like Audiophonics makes them in a cheap generic package that is still solid build and durable.
 

MingChops

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To be honest, I think we don't deserve Audiophonics.
Simp much!!

I don't disagree with your sentiments about Audiophonics, and I wish them continued success. But what you've said is ridiculous. So what, as paying consumers, we only 'deserve' high priced snake oil ripoff merchants do we? Personally I think everyone deserves the better nature of free enterprise and good businesses like Audiophonics..... "we don't deserve them", very odd thing to say.
 

Matias

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Kind of surprised this doesn’t offer better audio performance. Not bad, but not fantastic.
It is losing about 5 dB SINAD to an NC252MP alone because of the DAC implementation. The low price forgives this but I agree, it was very close to have even better performance if they improved the DAC board a little, as seen with 100 usd DACs from Topping/SMSL for example.
 

Multicore

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Simp much!!

I don't disagree with your sentiments about Audiophonics, and I wish them continued success. But what you've said is ridiculous. So what, as paying consumers, we only 'deserve' high priced snake oil ripoff merchants do we? Personally I think everyone deserves the better nature of free enterprise and good businesses like Audiophonics..... "we don't deserve them", very odd thing to say.
Obviously none of us deserve anything from retailers so the intent was clearly metaphorical and your response is therefore ... more odd than what you're commenting on.
 

Triliza

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Simp much!!

I don't disagree with your sentiments about Audiophonics, and I wish them continued success. But what you've said is ridiculous. So what, as paying consumers, we only 'deserve' high priced snake oil ripoff merchants do we? Personally I think everyone deserves the better nature of free enterprise and good businesses like Audiophonics..... "we don't deserve them", very odd thing to say.
Figure of speech. There aren't many similar eshops as Audiophonics in Europe, try to find some Canare or Belden by the meter. My only complain about them is that their shipping costs seem a little bit high to me.
 

sarumbear

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Multicore

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The price is starting to apply pressure to the budget Hypex power amp vendors. What's the price of a Chinese made DAC with these features including inputs, volume knob, display and remote? And what's the difference between the price of the device under review and the lowest-cost cased 2-ch Hypex NC252MP? If you care to do this calculation, do it with your local market prices and currency.
 
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kopczas

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(more an "assembler" of existing modules, than a regular manufacturer)
So there is none engineering from audiophonics. How can this be compared with dCS ( or Nagra, or Merging, or Cambridge Audio....)which relies on it`s own designs and patents. Do you see the difference?
 

Matias

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The price is starting to apply pressure to the budget Hypex power amp vendors. What's the price of a ChiFi DAC with these features including inputs, volume knob, display and remote? And what's the difference between the price of the device under review and the lowest-cost cased 2-ch Hypex NC252MP? If you care to do this calculation, do it with your local market prices and currency.
At around the same price 565 versus 582 euros (tax excluded) one can get the pair below, measures better but as a kit is larger and bulkier with cables instead of a single nice chassis. So this integrated is a very good value.



versus

 
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TheWalkman

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So there is none engineering from audiophonics. How can this be compared with dCS ( or Nagra, or Merging, or Cambridge Audio....)which relies on it`s own designs and patents. Do you see the difference?

There may be little, “pure engineering” from a circuit design standpoint, but the end result is a quality product that functions well, looks good and is affordable.

By analogy, anyone can take a stack of bricks and slap them together with mortar to construct a building. In the end, it’s the form, function and cost of the final structure that is important to me. Audiophonics may be compared to a highend home builder who leaves the blue prints to the architects but builds a home without cutting corners.

Some people prefer a bunch of glowing vacuum tubes, “big” nameplate or turquoise VU meters on the front of their amps. I do not. As an Audiophonics amp owner, I believe they are a builder (assembler) of great products that do the job very well for a great price.
 
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VintageFlanker

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How can this be compared with dCS ( or Nagra, or Merging, or Cambridge Audio....)
It cannot. But, you've made the shortcut first:
Is it just me but in many cases european audio products look like assembled DIY project?
Is @Audiophonics "many cases of European audio products" ?
Do you see the difference?
I do. Does anybody know any alternative (nCore NC252 integrated amp) actually for sale at this price? That is the real question. ;)
 

Overseas

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I do. Does anybody know any alternative (nCore NC252 integrated amp) actually for sale at this price? That is the real question. ;)
Sure, if you're after whatever module that is. But it's not too many people question, I guess. If I look to the chart, I see WXA50 quite close, if I live in a regular apartment then...
 

Oldasdrt

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Being somewhat of a newbie into the DAC/AMP/STREAMER desktop arena, quick question for you guys as it pertains to this DAC/AMP,
What would be the next step to be able to blutooth music and tv output to a center and rear channel in a compact AV system,
Just in general, as Im considering a Soundbar, I don't want an AVR nor the speaker wires, I already have JBL Boombox and Charge 5s
Thanks in advance
 
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VintageFlanker

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If I look to the chart, I see WXA50 quite close, if I live in a regular apartment then...
You mean, SINAD chart only ? That is not a proper way to compare amplifiers at all.;)Look at THD+N Vs Power first, then THD+N Vs Frequency. NC252MP runs circles around ICEpower 125ASX2 that's inside the WXA-50. ;) If there's no need for high SPL and plans to use MusicCast, then yes, the WXA-50 makes sense.
 

SuicideSquid

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None of those measurements are earth-shattering, but they're all good - for an integrated unit with amplifier and DAC at under $700, this thing's a steal. If I were setting up a basic stereo system for bedroom/office, even for non-HT living room use, I'd give this guy a long hard look.
 

Bleib

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None of those measurements are earth-shattering, but they're all good - for an integrated unit with amplifier and DAC at under $700, this thing's a steal. If I were setting up a basic stereo system for bedroom/office, even for non-HT living room use, I'd give this guy a long hard look.
I think for basic something like Topping MX3s would suffice
 
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