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DAC under 300 EUR

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dannyarc

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Hi there everybody,

I am searching for a DAC with SP/DIF input and a SABRE decoder (I believe I dislike the warmer AKM sound) under 300 euro.
If I read your reviews well enough, the choice should be between:
SMSL SU8 v2 (even though I do not have balanced amp, and I do not know how to distinguish v2 from v1, is it that one advertised as 1.2?)
Topping D50
Aune X1S
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital

My impression is that they are very similar, could you please help me taking a decision?
Thanks in advance
D
 
FooYatChong

FooYatChong

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Like a display:
Topping D50
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital
SMSL SU8 (sort of)

Need a headphone amp:
Aune X1S
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital

Use as pre with remote:
SMSL SU8
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital

Like MQA:
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital
 
Veri

Veri

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Su-8 is nice if you ever need a balanced out in the future. Aune X1S is nice to have an amp in same unit, although its amp works better with high-ohm headphones than sensitive ones; and you might need an external amp if you need more power. But the Aune DAC is quite good really, better than the SU-8 (on paper at least), if you don't need balanced at all.
 
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dannyarc

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FooYatChong said:
Like a display:
Topping D50
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital
SMSL SU8 (sort of)

Need a headphone amp:
Aune X1S
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital

Use as pre with remote:
SMSL SU8
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital

Like MQA:
Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital
Click to expand...

I understand they have several different features.
I am not a big fan of displays beyond troubleshooting purposes (e.g. "what the hell is it doing?!")
Not particularly interested to remote, I do not know anithing about MQA.
I could be interested in a headphone output assuming it had same quality level.

In this respect, Pro-ject Pre Box S2 with its ESS9063 seems performing better than average.

I do not know much about SH-8 Headphone Amp, other than it is being sold together with SU-8 on Massdorp at an interesting price
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/smsl-su-8-dac

Would they (SU-8 + SH-8) be sounding better than Pro-Ject Pre Box S2? (Talking about headphone)

From the sheer DAC sound quality, RCA output, point of view which is the best?
 
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dannyarc

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Veri said:
Su-8 is nice if you ever need a balanced out in the future. Aune X1S is nice to have an amp in same unit, although its amp works better with high-ohm headphones than sensitive ones; and you might need an external amp if you need more power. But the Aune DAC is quite good really, better than the SU-8 (on paper at least), if you don't need balanced at all.
Click to expand...

Is not Aune ESS9018K2M something less than the pairs of ES9038Q2M that are on the others?
 
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dannyarc

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It could also be interesting to know if SH-8 is based on TPA6120A2...
 
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dannyarc

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Dynamic range, 120 db for SU-8 and 124 dbA for Pre Box S2, are just marketing claims or they can be considered realistic quality indicators?
 
Veri

Veri

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dannyarc said:
Is not Aune ESS9018K2M something less than the pairs of ES9038Q2M that are on the others?
Click to expand...
Depends on how good the implementation and parts are, that's where amirs reviews come into play. The Aune X1S Anniversary has really good performance across the line. 111dB SINAD is actually better than almost all ES9038Q2M boards so far, except Khadas tone board.

I don't think you need to spend 300 EUR on a DAC honestly, to get 2019-top performance.
 
FooYatChong

FooYatChong

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dannyarc said:
Dynamic range, 120 db for SU-8 and 124 dbA for Pre Box S2, are just marketing claims or they can be considered realistic quality indicators?
Click to expand...

I think those dac's outperform pretty much any amplifier out there. And all music I own has a dynamic range well below the theoretical maximum of RBCD. So no, I don't think it means much in this range.

For me the pro-ject's appeal lies in it's combination off features and the fact it's available through the regular hifi supply channels. But it'll cost you more, €350 > €400.

If you don't care for these features i would save some money and go for the X1S, if you value a headphone amp, or the SMSL SU8 in case you would want a balanced amp in the future.
 
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dannyarc

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The prices I see from Italy at this moment are
Aune X1S € 269.99 (amazon.it)
SU-8 + SH-8 $199.99 (+VAT + Shipping ~ € 300) or SU-8 € 210 last price on amazon.it not currently available
Pre Box S2 € 296,65 from a local dealer
 
Veri

Veri

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Tene

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About the Pre Box S2 vs the X1S Anniv you also have to take into consideration the power delivered.
Pre Box S2 = 50mW @33Ω / 13mW @300Ω - X1S Anniv = 270mW @33Ω / 140mW @300Ω.

The Pre Box S2 will suffice for sensitive headphones but far from enough with more demanding headphones.
 
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dannyarc

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Patrick1958 said:
https://www.auneaudio-europe.com/in...sd128-mini-dac-headphone-amplifier-black.html
Directly from importer.
Click to expand...

Order Totals
aune_x1s_anniversary.jpg
Aune X1S 32BIT / 384 DSD128 MINI DAC 10th Anniversary Edition / Headphone Amplifier Black

Subtotal €229.00
Shipping & Handling (GLS Euro Business Parcel) €18.00 [to Italy]
Grand Total Excl. Tax €204.13
Tax €42.87
Grand Total Incl. Tax €247.00

not bad
 
Veri

Veri

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dannyarc said:
I would like to have an opinion from Amir, who wrote also:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...down-of-pro-ject-pre-box-s2-digital-dac.2393/

and I believe he did not privide any SINAD figure for S2D:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ad-distortion-comparison-graph-for-dacs.4814/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-of-pro-ject-pre-box-s2-digital.2370/
Click to expand...
He reviewed S2D with his old measurement set-up. The new dashboard, is made with total new system. That is why
 
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dannyarc

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Tene said:
About the Pre Box S2 vs the X1S Anniv you also have to take into consideration the power delivered.
Pre Box S2 = 50mW @33Ω / 13mW @300Ω - X1S Anniv = 270mW @33Ω / 140mW @300Ω.

The Pre Box S2 will suffice for sensitive headphones but far from enough with more demanding headphones.
Click to expand...

Reading this review, it seems it provides quite enough power for my HD650 headphones:
https://headfonics.com/2018/03/pro-ject-audio-pre-box-s2-digital-review/2/

And I do not want my ears to be blown away!!
 
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