Bargain DAC Suggestions?

[amirm]

Oh sorry. Forgot about finishing testing of that. I will see if I can do it today before being on the road for 24 hours or so.

 

[amirm]

Here you go! https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../topping-d30-dac-measurement-and-review.2016/

 

[sssn]

Fiio E10K (marketed mainly as a headphone amp, but has a dedicated lineout)
Behringer UCA202/222 (NwAvGuy measured it and liked it a lot)
ODAC (rev. B)

 

[amirm]

I usually welcome new members but you just cost me over $100 in having to order the first two DACs.

On Odac, whose implementation do I get? JDS Labs? If so, what was different in Rev B?

 

[sssn]

Sorry for being a rash new guy

Yes, JDS Labs is the best source for ODACs in the US.

ODAC rev. A uses the Sabre ESS9023 DAC chip. It was designed together with NwAvGuy back in '11 or so.

A few years later, after NwAvGuy was long gone), JDS Labs noticed there were problems with the ODAC in some cases. These were seemingly pretty rare, but they still felt the need to make a revision based on the TI PCM5102. It has the same form factor and measures slightly better, according to JDS Labs themselves. Here is the relevant blog post from them: http://blog.jdslabs.com/?p=1003/releasing-odac-revb/

If you feel particularly inquisitive (and got a source for a rev. A ODAC), you might compare rev. A and rev. B even

 

[amirm]

Thanks. I like to order from Amazon and the seller there says it is Rev B but the box markings are different than from JDS Labs: https://www.amazon.com/JDSLABS-ODAC...&qid=1509561029&sr=8-2&keywords=objective+dac

Are you able to figure out if that is really Rev B?

 

[sssn]

The picture is definitely of an older run of rev. As.
Though I'd wager you'll get a B since A was discontinued 2 years ago. It also says rev. B in the description. I guess the picture is just a placeholder.

 

[amirm]

Thanks. I will take a chance with it and if it is the older one, return it.

 

[neu01]

fx audio dac-x6
smsl m3
sabaj d3
smsl b1

I personally own the dac-x6, so am curious how it performs. They are all dac/amps that feature line out, all very similar in price and features. They are all also readily available outside of the US, so any one can buy one on amazon/aliexpress/ebay.

ps. If you decide to test them, can you measure the output impedance of the amps as well?

 

[amirm]

Hey, hey, hey! There is $400 worth of DACs there! Prioritize them and I may buy one or two.

And yes, I will be working on proper headphone amp testing and will add impedance test to it.

 

[neu01]

Hey, hey, hey! There is $400 worth of DACs there! Prioritize them and I may buy one or two.

And yes, I will be working on proper headphone amp testing and will add impedance test to it.

Then the Dac-x6, if possible. I just want to know how the Dac-x6 performs seeing as I own one

I was curious about the smsl B1 being that it features bluetooth as well. But it seems to only feature bluetooth input.

 

[amirm]

OK, I ordered those two. As a result, for the rest of the week I am down to bread and water for lunches to save up!

 

[neu01]

OK, I ordered those two. As a result, for the rest of the week I am down to bread and water for lunches to save up!

Wow that was quick! sorry I should have done more research. The smsl B1 is only bluetooth input, unlike the others which all have usb/spdif/coax inputs. It's a bit deceptive just going by the pictures, until you read the specs.

Hope it's not too late to cancel

 

[amirm]

OK, I killed that order.

 

[amirm]

Behringer UCA202/222 (NwAvGuy measured it and liked it a lot)

Here is the results: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...eview-and-measurements-behringer-uca222.2036/

As you see there, it is quite disappointing performance wise. I have to go and find NWAVGuy's article to see what he measured that made him like it. I certainly don't.

 

[sssn]

Hate to be pushy, but didn't any of the other DACs you ordered arrive yet?

 

[Thomas savage]

Hate to be pushy, but didn't any of the other DACs you ordered arrive yet?

Amir has a special box opening ceremony that can last upto 3 days, then there’s the distinct possibility the postal worker got scared of the dogs and left the parcel god knows where...

 

[amirm]

Hate to be pushy, but didn't any of the other DACs you ordered arrive yet?

Yes, a few arrived. I had to spend time on the loaner player first because of the time limit on them. Which are anxious to see? Maybe I will do the Objective DAC.

 

[sssn]

I would like to see both the E10K and the ODAC rev. B! Both use the very same DAC chip (PCM5102), but the E10K is cheaper and has a whole headphone amp and SPDIF out to boot. I wonder if the ODAC's higher price is justified.

 

[Deleted member 65]

What about the Musical Paradise $333 DAC with tube output, I've got the more expensive MP-D2.

MP-D1 24Bit USB Asynchronous Digital-to-Analog Converter DAC (Refurbished)

http://www.musicalparadise.ca/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=61&product_id=56