DAC for budget speaker for home use 150 budget

[Mateø]

I am currently progressing my way through music listening, my current setup consists of a Lenovo PC, running QOBUZ with WASAPI, to an Aiyima A7 Integrated amp into Triangle Borea BR02's. I am looking for a DAC under 150 pounds (UK) mainly neutral as Boreas are quite mid heavy, the room size and furniture make it quite balanced. I am looking for best product for the price, and see and improvement in sound detail obviously. I am mainly looking for this as I feel that the speakers have some more juice to squeeze.

 

[staticV3]

Here are some options:

-Khadas Tone Board (109dB SINAD) for $80
-Topping D10s (113dB SINAD) for $110
-JDS Atom DAC+ (112dB SINAD) for $110
-Schiit Modi 3E (114dB SINAD) for $130
-SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKⅡ (114dB SINAD) for $140
-Topping E30 II (117dB SINAD) for $150

They all sound the same (neutral), so deciding factors should be looks, availability, features, warranty, etc.

 

[Joe Smith]

Good list above...I concur...

 

[Overseas]

With a good neutral DAC you will not get 'improvement in sound detail', you will get as close to the source material as it gets. Now, the source may sound bad or good, the DAC will simply reflect that.

 

[MajorP]

Schiit Modi 3E

 

[Berwhale]

Topping and SMSL are easier to get in the UK. If you think you might like to get some headphones at some point, then you should consider upping your budget to £200 and get a Topping DX3 Pro+. This will add a decent HP Amp and Bluetooth streaming capability (i.e from a phone to the DAC) over the DAC options already mentioned.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Topping-ES9038Q2M-Bluetooth-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B09HBS8SLJ

 

[Mateø]

Topping and SMSL are easier to get in the UK. If you think you might like to get some headphones at some point, then you should consider upping your budget to £200 and get a Topping DX3 Pro+. This will add a decent HP Amp and Bluetooth streaming capability (i.e from a phone to the DAC) over the DAC options already mentioned.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Topping-ES9038Q2M-Bluetooth-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B09HBS8SLJ

I am thinking of getting headphones in the future, probably Sivga SV021's, I was looking for the oppo HA2SE but they're too expensive and discontinued. I am able to get Zen Dac v2 for 135.

 

[Berwhale]

I am thinking of getting headphones in the future, probably Sivga SV021's, I was looking for the oppo HA2SE but they're too expensive and discontinued. I am able to get Zen Dac v2 for 135.

The DAC wasn't anything to write home about in the V1...

ifi Zen DAC and Headphone Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the ifi Zen balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. I purchased it from Amazon last week. The Zen DAC costs US $130 including free shipping. I must say, I am not a fan of the look of the Zen DAC. It hearkens back to 1960s furniture style which would...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I think I read that the V2 was better, but I don't recall seeing any measurements to back this up. Although the unit is quite compelling from a cost/functionality perspective, I would personally steer clear of iFi due to the huge amount of snake oil the spout.

The Sivga SV021's look quite nice, but they don't measure great either...

Note how much the light grey line on the lower graph deviates from the preference curve (black line), then compare this to something like the AKG K371...

The top graph (red and blue lines) show the deviation from the preference curve, so ideally should be a straight horizontal line.

Of course, there is more to headphones than just the frequency response. Comfort and build quality are important and some people have had issues with the K371's in this regard (including myself, although it was nothing that 5 minutes and a small screwdriver couldn't fix).