Is It Worth Upgrading to a DAC for My Setup (Dali Spektor 1 + Fosi V3)? Apple Dongle vs. iFi Uno/FiiO K3

[SonicAlchemist]

Hey everyone,

I just bought Dali Spektor 1 speakers and a Fosi V3 amp, and I’m wondering if I really need a dedicated DAC. For now, I’m using an Apple dongle that connects via USB to my Mac and PC through a hub. It works fine (with my Pebble V3 ), but I’ve been thinking about spending around 70–100€ on something like the iFi Uno or FiiO K3 for an upgrade.

What I like about both of these options is that they can be completely powered off (which is important for me, especially at night). I don’t really care about the headphone jack, it’s not something I use often. But maybe controlling my Mac via its system controls would be also cool.

I’ve also considered the SMSL SU-1, but I’ve read that it might not work as well with Macs. Does anyone have experience with it and can clarify if that’s true?

Do you think it’s worth investing in a DAC at this point? I use my setup 90% of the time on my Mac and about 10% on Windows for gaming. Would the upgrade noticeably improve the sound, or is the Apple dongle good enough for my needs? I listen to Apple Music most of the time, but I also have a small FLAC library.


Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi,
The Apple dongle is really very good indeed ... changing DAC is very unlikely to improve the sound at all. You might get a volume boost since the dongle's output is quite low, but if you go loud enough now then that doesn't matter.

Fair enough to change if you want other features, but buy for the features. I might avoid the iFi Uno unless you can find measurements, although it would probably be fine

Sorry, can't help you with the Mac question although there have been plenty of comment about the SMSL SU-1 here (favourable) and I don't think any problems have been reported

 

[SonicAlchemist]

Thank you for your reply I think I will start with the apple dongle since I don't need any other features

 

[yourmom210]

I was using the following chain for a year:

MacBook Air - Apple dongle - Schiit Valhalla 2 pre-amp and headphone amp - Fosi V3

And the Apple dongle was introducing tons of noise to my tube pre-amp that I just assumed was the pre-amp itself, presumably because the input signal was limited to 1V instead of the standard 2 for line-out. I upgraded to a Fiio K11 R2R and it got rid of it all. I never really connected directly to the Fosi V3 from the dongle so can’t say you’d have the same experience, though.

Another option for achieving full line-out level on a budget is the Fiio KA11 dongle, which is like $30 USD. Others on the forum measured it at 2.5+V for line-out with exceptionally low SINAD. I use the lightning version for iPhone and the USB-C version for my iPads and I love them