Cheapest acceptable DAC with remote control?

[geowars2]

Hi,

I recently replaced an LG soundbar with an old set of PC speakers (Acoustic Energy Aego M). I like these speakers because they are discreet and sound really nice for their size. They were cheap when I bought them over 10 years ago, yet they sound 100x better than my old LG soundbar.

I use much more expensive speaker setups for my PC and DJing, yet I get just as much enjoyment from music out of these cheap ones! They have a really musical detailed sound and really nice tight bass. They are really surprisingly lovely!

Now here's my problem... I have them connected to the analog headphone out on my LG OLED B8 TV and I am experiencing intermittent electrical buzzing noises (even when the TV is off). The noises are annoying but it's still an acceptable trade-off when compared to the horrible muddy sound that the LG soundbar bad.
I think that the noise comes from within the TV itself so I don't imagine that better quality cables would help here.

A DAC definitely does help: I tried a couple of my old DACs (e.g. a cheap fiip DAC and audioengine d1) and they sound perfect but none of them have remote controls so they aren't suitable (my TV won't control volume via Optical)

There are a couple of similar threads where DACs like the Topping E30 are recommended but I'm wondering if there is anything cheaper that would be at least as good as the DAC that my TV uses?

The problem with DACs like the E30 is that £130 is a lot of money just to defeat a bit of electrical noise! Also after spending £130, that could be money that's put towards a higher end soundbar.

I did see an example of a really cheap DAC with a remote (Prozor DAC on Amazon) but at £23.99, I really doubt it would meet that "acceptable" quality level so I think I'm after something slightly better.

Also it seems a bit overkill for these speakers. These speakers were (incredibly) only around £80 when new.

Fyi - I am in the UK.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts, wisdom or suggestions you have!

 

[geowars2]

On reflection I'll probably just go for something like the Topping but will look to find a used one before plunging for New.

If I do later upgrade the speakers at least the DAC can still be re-used or sold, so it's probably not such a waste of money in retrospect!

Update: Purchased a used SMSL SU8 on eBay at ~£100.
Given the choice of cheap and nasty DACs at £20-£30 or slightly overkill DACs at £100+, I've opted for slightly overkill!

 

[Trell]

Overkill as a term is related to your use case, not price.

 

[geowars2]

Overkill as a term is related to your use case, not price.

Yes, agreed, I should have clarified.

 

[geowars2]

Interesting update on my situation. Following my DAC order, I decided to try and look a bit closer at what was causing the annoying electrical interference buzzing noises in my speakers. It wasn't the TV. It was my Nvidia Shield device. I noticed the noises were a lot more prominent when using it, so I unplugged it and the noises disappeared.

Meanwhile, my SMSL SU-8 DAC was delivered. It's a nice DAC but I'm not sure I notice a noticeable improvement over my TVs 3.5mm output, so whether I keep it or sell it on, will remain to be seen.

 

[formdissolve]

Keep in mind there are known issues connecting the optical port on LG TVs to Topping DACs. I had a Topping E50 connected to my C9 and they did not get on that well, with lots of pops and clicks every few minutes or so.