Decent DAC for £150 max?

[FiftyTifty]

Hey everyone. Got a bit of a conundrum.

My Schiit Modi2 Uber just died after turning the plug back on after cleaning. Which was weird. Ordered a new power extension lead from Belkin, and now I'm looking at DACs. But there's so many, and the comparisons of the Modi2 are years old with products that aren't sold any more.

From what I read, the SMSL SU-8 was the proper DAC to get at that price point, with the Schiit Modi2 being more of a scam with crummy components at that price. But that isn't sold any more.

What's a decent DAC for that price? I don't have fancy requirements, all I'm looking for is:

Optical SPDIF input source (takes audio output from PC soundcard, don't have any free USB ports)
Stereo RCA output

I rout the RCA outputs to a pair of Yamaha HS7 monitors, which I got on the cheap. I use these for highs, with a pair of Edirol MA-15Ds connected to a CPY optical duplicator beneath them for lows. Sounds perverted and it is, but I like my fancy not-subwoofers subwoofers.

 

[ocinn]

Smsl SU1, spend the 90£ savings under your budget on beer or a nice dinner out.

 

[FiftyTifty]

Smsl SU1, spend the 90£ savings under your budget on beer or a nice dinner out.

Hmm. Tried doing a google shopping search, only got AliExpress and Amazon results. Have to wait about half a month for it to ship from China (and gl with warranty), Amazon wants £90 for it and doesn't clarify US import fees to the UK AND doesn't have a warranty. That's a real bummer, unfortunately.

 

[Veri]

Hmm. Tried doing a google shopping search, only got AliExpress and Amazon results. Have to wait about half a month for it to ship from China (and gl with warranty), Amazon wants £90 for it and doesn't clarify US import fees to the UK AND doesn't have a warranty. That's a real bummer, unfortunately.

Can you order from France, perhaps?

SMSL SU-1 DAC AK4493S XMOS XU316 32bit 768kHz DSD512 MQA MQA-CD - Audiophonics

Compact and powerful, the SMSL SU-1 DAC represents an affordable and efficient digital to analog conversion solution. Taking advantage of a careful design, it offers a great versatility while allowing a sound restitution of great quality.

www.audiophonics.fr

Amazon also has a used unit for 72GBP https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-M-S-L-MQA-CD-Decoder-AK4493S-768kHz/dp/B0C1Y7C9HH/

 

[anome]

Worth a look.

 

[Joe Smith]

I recommend the JDS Labs Atom Dac+, or the currrent Schiit Modi. Advantage of the Modi over the JDS is it runs on USB power, but if you have no free USB ports, you'd have to run powered from the power in with a phone-type charger to wall socket. So, the JDS may be the better choice. The Atom+ has Optical and USB inputs, but not Coax. The the Modi has all three.

Great service and support from JDS labs, an excellent product, upgradeable firmware too.

 

[FiftyTifty]

Can you order from France, perhaps?

SMSL SU-1 DAC AK4493S XMOS XU316 32bit 768kHz DSD512 MQA MQA-CD - Audiophonics

Compact and powerful, the SMSL SU-1 DAC represents an affordable and efficient digital to analog conversion solution. Taking advantage of a careful design, it offers a great versatility while allowing a sound restitution of great quality.

www.audiophonics.fr

Amazon also has a used unit for 72GBP https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-M-S-L-MQA-CD-Decoder-AK4493S-768kHz/dp/B0C1Y7C9HH/

Ooh, actually, yes. And with Brexit, there's only import duties if the item is >£135 pounds. That is pretty banging. Looking like the top contender in this <£150 price range. Which is surprising!

Worth a look.

Oof, it's 160 quid. And in that review, scores 2 points lower than the SU-1.

I recommend the JDS Labs Atom Dac+, or the currrent Schiit Modi. Advantage of the Modi over the JDS is it runs on USB power, but if you have no free USB ports, you'd have to run powered from the power in with a phone-type charger to wall socket. So, the JDS may be the better choice. The Atom+ has Optical and USB inputs, but not Coax. The the Modi has all three.

Great service and support from JDS labs, an excellent product, upgradeable firmware too.

Unfortunately the JDS is £150, and scores lower than the SU-1 which is close to half the price (or under half of the Hevi model!): https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/jds-labs-atom-dac-review.23701/

Thanks for the input though, everyone. So far it's looking like the SU-1 from France is the best option.

 

[SlamTaz]

£150 is about US$190.​

the SMSL C200 is a very nice DAC with headphone amp that's been reviewed by Amir in this site. I got it early this year for about US$175, so should be within your budget

 

[ocinn]

£150 is about US$190.​

the SMSL C200 is a very nice DAC with headphone amp that's been reviewed by Amir in this site. I got it early this year for about US$175, so should be within your budget

View attachment 304782

SMSL C200 DAC ES9038Q2M Bluetooth 5.0 aptX-HD LDAC 32bit 768kHz DSD512 - Audiophonics

SMSL offers with the C200 a DAC as compact as performing, benefiting from a careful design and a connectic able to answer to the majority of integration needs. We find there an ES9038Q2M DAC offering a precise and clear sound restitution.

www.audiophonics.fr

180 pounds from a European retailer, over budget.

 

[FiftyTifty]

Yeah. And if you import from the US, there's import duties and fees to pay as well.

 

[TK750]

Hey mate, not sure exactly what you're referencing when you say one dac 'outscores' another but I'm guessing it's probably the sinad number? This is a common mistake that many make and is generally not advised once you cross a certain level as there is no audible difference. I can't remember what the exact calculated number is off the top of my head (think it was somewhere between 90-100), but I'd suggest using a benchmark of anything 100+ is grand. Recommended things to consider when making a choice are (of which many you've already identified) price, inputs + outputs, form factor, availability, warranty, reliability/build quality, volume/preamp function etc etc. For the stuff not covered by measurements I'd suggest having a quick look through the threads for the device and seeing if there are many complaints. As always take them with a pinch of salt, some devices sell a lot more than others and of course unhappy customers are much more likely to post than satisfied ones etc. I just did a quick search with your requirements (used $200 for max price which I think was a touch high), any of these should fit the bill or at least be worth looking at. The SU1 already mentioned seems like a solid choice.

The parameters I used in the advanced search

 

[V.b.]

1 Yamaha has balanced inputs. You should take the oportunity to go with a balanced DAC.

2 if you use a computer and rerouting to two different speakers, you should get an interface with 4 outs.

 

[TK750]

Hey mate, not sure exactly what you're referencing when you say one dac 'outscores' another but I'm guessing it's probably the sinad number? This is a common mistake that many make and is generally not advised once you cross a certain level as there is no audible difference. I can't remember what the exact calculated number is off the top of my head (think it was somewhere between 90-100), but I'd suggest using a benchmark of anything 100+ is grand. Recommended things to consider when making a choice are (of which many you've already identified) price, inputs + outputs, form factor, availability, warranty, reliability/build quality, volume/preamp function etc etc. For the stuff not covered by measurements I'd suggest having a quick look through the threads for the device and seeing if there are many complaints. As always take them with a pinch of salt, some devices sell a lot more than others and of course unhappy customers are much more likely to post than satisfied ones etc. I just did a quick search with your requirements (used $200 for max price which I think was a touch high), any of these should fit the bill or at least be worth looking at. The SU1 already mentioned seems like a solid choice.

View attachment 304787

The parameters I used in the advanced search

View attachment 304788

One thing I forgot to mention is that there are a few products that don't appear in that index as I think they are added manually and may have been missed/forgotten (the SU1 for example), but the vast majority do.

 

[FiftyTifty]

-snip-

Yeah it's the score in all the reviews. At 150 +/- 10, yeah a few points is within margin of error. But when something close to half the price has a higher score within the margin of error? That's a big difference.

1 Yamaha has balanced inputs. You should take the oportunity to go with a balanced DAC.

2 if you use a computer and rerouting to two different speakers, you should get an interface with 4 outs.

Ooh. Right, that is a biggie then. Should I make a new thread then for a balanced DACwith 4 outs? I don't have surround sound mind, just 2 pairs of stereo speakers.

 

[anome]

in that review, scores 2 points lower than the SU-1.

?? what I see is the DO100 outscoring the SU-1 by 4 points, but rather a moot at that level. It was just that it is a balanced unit.

 

[Steven Holt]

I'll vote for that D10 balanced, but there are plenty of good ones out there around that price. Just make sure it has all the inputs you want.

 

[FiftyTifty]

?? what I see is the DO100 outscoring the SU-1 by 4 points, but rather a moot at that level. It was just that it is a balanced unit.

Ahh yeh got it mixed up with other reviews. Is there a way to tell if the DAC is balanced?

I'll vote for that D10 balanced, but there are plenty of good ones out there around that price. Just make sure it has all the inputs you want.

There's a lot of choice is the thing, and there are more than enough stinkers (i.e, more than 0, such as my Modi Schiit 2 Uber) that I'd like to get a decent shopping list and pick from that. And the SMSL DO100 is £260 including VAT and shipping, which is more than I can afford.

 

[fuzzy_logic]

SMSL C100 for £79.20 (using voucher), with next day delivery:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BNFZ75LJ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A2XL2OZZCZEZ5B&psc=1

 

[TonyJZX]

C-100 is a star performer... it *SHOULD* be identical to the well reviewed SU-1 but with a few additional niceties.

If you cant live with the few minor operational issues it has like no vol. knob, not great BT then its a no brainer.


edit. I thought you had a yamaha receiever

for the above actives since it has XLR the M300se is the obvious choice... now its $120 usd but really i wouldnt spend less given you are using your dac to cover up operational issues with actives

i certainly would not use a plain fixed output dac if it were me... BUT some people can manage that

 

[TK750]

Yeah it's the score in all the reviews. At 150 +/- 10, yeah a few points is within margin of error. But when something close to half the price has a higher score within the margin of error? That's a big difference.

Maybe I'm being dumb but I'm still not understanding? Outside of perhaps sinad the reviews are not given scores and the highest sinad measured is 123? If it is this you are referring to I can assure you it's not a big difference.