Dac with low noise floor for 104db sensitivity speakers

[Panduro]

Hello guys and maybe girls, im a Virgin poster on your awesome forum.

I am getting back into audio after many years away from hobby, building a new 2 Channel system.

I listen to everything from jazz to Electronica to metal. i prefer focussing on cd quality over hd/mqa capabilities. I stream from Spotify/amazon music.
i do not want an analytical Sound that punishes recordings that isnt perfect.


so far my system comprises of

Preamp/dirac live: mini dsp shd studio

balances dac, suggestions very welcome…

power amp: yamaha p2500s or nad 218thx- expect to change to something with lower noise floor and low gain, when funds permit…

Speakers: pi7 cornerhorns

question: which dac to buy?

Extremely low noise floor.
prefer balanced outputs
sound characteristics: to the darker/fuller side of neutral.
dont need preamp capabilities, volume control, special filter options as im sure my Minidsp shd studio Can handle that.
price range, about 300-500 euros. Not a hard and completely set range, but thats what is “comfertable” for me to spend currently.

any suggestions?

best regards

ben

 

[voodooless]

Why is balanced input a requirement? SHD also has normal coax digital outputs. I think you will have many more options that way.

What about Topping D30Pro? It does have a volume control, but I guess almost every DAC in that price range will have it.

 

[abdo123]

Why is balanced input a requirement? SHD also has normal coax digital outputs. I think you will have many more options that way.

What about Topping D30Pro? It does have a volume control, but I guess almost every DAC in that price range will have it.

i think he meant AES inputs for the SHD studio he has and balanced outputs.

 

[voodooless]

i think he meant AES inputs for the SHD studio he has and balanced outputs.

No, it has both AES and COAX outputs:

Why ask for AES exclusively? It only limits options.

 

[abdo123]

No, it has both AES and COAX outputs:
View attachment 145029

Well the DAC needs balanced SPDIF inputs aka AES

 

[voodooless]

Well the DAC needs balanced SPDIF inputs aka AES

No, it does not! That is the whole point.

 

[abdo123]

No, it does not! That is the whole point.

Imagine someone asking for an amplifier with balanced inputs and you go ahead and recommend that they use the RCA output of their DAC. Why would you do such a thing?

AES inputs are very common.

 

[abdo123]

Anything Topping made in the last 3 years should have a ~120 dB Signal to noise ratio.

With the majority of them having ‘DAC mode’ feature so you would use the Dirac enabled device for volume control.

If you think you would ever consider going multichannel or adding subwoofer(s) to your setup then you should get an Okto DAC 8 Pro or stock up on multiple (but identical) stereo DACs.

 

[voodooless]

AES inputs are very common.

Not so much in the lower price range, and why limit yourself it is not needed? That is what I asked why it is a requirement. It's not a strange question, is it?

 

[Panduro]

Hey guys, thx for the answers

No i dont Think it’s a Strange question. No Strange questions, just Strange me lol. I suppose only reason i have, is that it’s my belief that balanced connections is often lower in noise. Gonna be using Minidsp as a streamer and only other input is gonna be from the tv.
i do expect to do multi subs in the future, but was thinking i could buy a higher quality dac for use with my mains and then use the entry lvl One for subs. Hmm why cant it ever be simple . Why do the dacs need to be identical?

ben

 

[voodooless]

A preference is not a requirement in my book. Besides, it doesn't answer the "why" question.

And you don't need identical DAC's. Timing is dictated by the SHD, so you can mix and match whatever you like (except possibly for some exotic stuff with large RAM buffers and strange reclocking features).

 

[abdo123]

And you don't need identical DAC's. Timing is dictated by the SHD, so you can mix and match whatever you like (except possibly for some exotic stuff with large RAM buffers and strange reclocking features).

is it industry standard that DACs introduce no latency at all? I'm under the impression that some DACs might introduce a little bit of latency and that could be slightly different between different DACs. not necessarily at the SPDIF stage since indeed SHD is the master clock but somewhere downstream?

 

[voodooless]

is it industry standard that DACs introduce no latency at all? I'm under the impression that some DACs might introduce a little bit of latency and that could be slightly different between different DACs. not necessarily at the SPDIF stage since indeed SHD is the master clock but somewhere downstream?

Latency is practically never an issue. It's a fixed number of samples and easily corrected with the SHD. The latency of your sub being not in the same physical position as the rest of the speakers is much, much larger by contrast.

 

[Panduro]

lets call it a preference then. Why? To my noob knowlegde, balanced in/outputs often has lower noise. Well and it seems to me that good xlr pro cables are cheaper than good rca hifi cables and have more sturdy connections.
im open to listen and being educated, thats why i just made an account hele and not in another audio forum.

so Big Latency differences, between 2 different dacs could make it an issue, but shoudnt when i Can time align via dsp as i need to do with multi subs anyway.

ben

 

[Panduro]

hola guys, am i asking the wrong question since the answers came to a halt?

best regards

ben

 

[abdo123]

hola guys, am i asking the wrong question since the answers came to a halt?

best regards

ben

your thread disappeared from the forum right after @voodooless replied to me.

I don't know what happened but maybe i'm not sure it might be because you're a new member.

 

[mdsimon2]

You can sort the ASR rankings on SNR as a good starting point, but you will need to make sure the SNR measurements are taken at the same output voltage for a proper comparison.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Audio_Equipment_Reviews/

Once you have a few devices you are interested in I would look through the review threads for those devices and see if you can confirm that they do not have any offensive turn on/off noises which will be a really big deal with high sensitivity speakers.

Choosing a DAC with balanced outputs is a good idea but I would not personally worry about AES vs SPDIF inputs.

Michael

 

[abdo123]

but you will need to make sure the SNR measurements are taken at the same output voltage for a proper comparison.

it's not a big deal for DACs imo, a DAC outputting 2 Vrms will have ~6dB lower SNR compared to 4 Vrms.

It's much more influential for Amplifiers though.

 

[mdsimon2]

I was more speaking to pro audio interfaces with very high output voltages (10+ V). I agree that at the very highest performance levels a 6 dB difference in SNR is probably not significant but if there was every a place where it would matter it is with very high sensitivity speakers.

And of course I agree with your comment that low noise, low gain amplifiers are also very important in this situation.

Michael

 

[Panduro]

awesome thx guys for answering,

yeah im aware that it isnt a Big problem with dacs, but i Can use all the help i Can get, so i still prefer balanced… i Will look hard at all the Gear in my setup to avoid as Much noise/hiss as possible. The system that was hooked up too my former horn speakers, wasnt up to par in that respect and i had to run really low gain to minimize my hiss irritation….


also looking at power amp(purify), but thats also Down the line, soon im finished building my speakers, just bought the shd and i need a dac for my system to make sound, but after that i need to wait a “wee“ bit til my money tree has grown some more greens .

i expext to use my Yamaha p2500s , while not high end sound it Sounds more than okay, but i havent heard it with a 104db speakers so not aware of how noisy it will be. But adjustable gain good Thing thats for sure.

start up pops n such, good advice, hadet thought of that.
so far im looking at topping d30pro and gustard x16. Ill look in the threads for that.


best regards

ben