I need a DAC?

[musica]

I am currently using an external sound card, the XONAR U7 MK II, as a DAC. I want to replace it with a dedicated DAC and can spend up to 150 euros. Which one would you recommend?

 

[staticV3]

What part of the Xonar U7 are you looking to improve upon with a new DAC?

 

[JustJones]

Have they updated the software since this review? Do you need a better headphone amp or just looking for a stand alone dac?

Review and Measurements of Asus Xonar U7 MKII ADC/DAC/HP

This is a review and measurements of the Asus Xonar U7 MK II multi-channel DAC, Headphone Amplifier and Analog to Digital (ADC) converter. A member overseas prompted me to purchase this unit to test by donating to the forum nickel jar. :) At just US 90 on Amazon with prime shipping, this is...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[musica]

What part of the Xonar U7 are you looking to improve upon with a new DAC?

I would like to improve everything, but especially the output sensitivity, which is very low on the U7.

 

[musica]

Topping D10S
Topping E30 II
S.M.S.L SU-1
Are these better than the U7 MKII?

 

[AnalogSteph]

I would like to improve everything, but especially the output sensitivity, which is very low on the U7.

There is no such thing as output sensitivity. There is either input sensitivity, which is the input signal level required to achieve a given output, or output level, which I suspect was what you meant. The latter is about 1.1 Vrms or something for the U7 MkII, and distortion performance isn't exactly great either (I think the signal path is full of high-K ceramic capacitors).

Topping D10S
Topping E30 II
S.M.S.L SU-1
Are these better than the U7 MKII?

Yes. They all have about a 2 Vrms full-scale output, which would be roughly 5 dB louder than the U7. Noise and distortion are nice and low for all of them as well. You can still add the E30 II Lite to the list.

So you're only looking for a (fixed) line-level output, not headphone driving capabilities, right?

Your description of output level being "very low" has me slightly worried that a new DAC alone may not be sufficient to solve your issue. What does the rest of the signal chain look like?

 

[musica]

I got the SMSL SU-1. I don't know if it's the best among those mentioned, but now it's a whole different music experience!