Looking for DAC for Focal Alpha 65

[Raice]

Hi!

Just ordered a pair of Focal Alphas 65 and now looking for a DAC to replace an old one.

My current setup is a pair of old Edifier R2000 connected to Breeze Audio SU4 DAC (XMOS)
DAC is connected via USB to MINIX U9-H with LibreELEC installed, coax input connected to TV and optical is connected to XBOX

My budget for DAC is 200-300USD (I prefer 200 than 300).
I live in China, so I have an access to all Taobao shops and Chinese DAC manufacturers.

Done some googling, looks like Topping DX7s is what I need, but is there any decent DAC with bluetooth/AirPlay option so my friends can stream music from their iPhones?
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[andreasmaaan]

Topping DX3 Pro is cheaper, measures about as well (arguably better), and includes bluetooth functionality.

 

[Raice]

Topping DX3 Pro is cheaper, measures about as well (arguably better), and includes bluetooth functionality.

Thanks for suggestion, but this DAC is without balanced outputs. Will it make difference?

 

[andreasmaaan]

Thanks for suggestion, but this DAC is without balanced outputs. Will it make difference?

For home use (short cable runs, unexceptional noise environment, etc) there will be no audible advantage to using a balanced DAC, all else being equal.

The Alphas have single-ended inputs, so I'd go for the DAC that fits your budget and has the desired performance and features, regardless whether it's balanced or single-ended.

 

[JJB70]

If the speakers have SE input then I would also not worry about losing balanced output. Until very recently very few domestic components had balanced connections and virtually nobody saw it as an issue until manufacturers realised it was a good marketing hook.

 

[Bamboszek]

Not really. Some active monitors may be much noisier if not connected to balanced source. I don't know about Focals but for example XLR helps with JBLs LSR305 or Presonus Eris E8.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Not really. Some active monitors may be much noisier if not connected to balanced source. I don't know about Focals but for example XLR helps with JBLs LSR305 or Presonus Eris E8.

Could you explain what you base this on? Are you talking about noise that is not rejected by the single-ended connection or noise from some other source?

 

[maverickronin]

Probably having to turn up the gain all the way up if driven from a weak single-ended source.

 

[helloworld]

Hi!

Just ordered a pair of Focal Alphas 65 and now looking for a DAC to replace an old one.

My current setup is a pair of old Edifier R2000 connected to Breeze Audio SU4 DAC (XMOS)
DAC is connected via USB to MINIX U9-H with LibreELEC installed, coax input connected to TV and optical is connected to XBOX

My budget for DAC is 200-300USD (I prefer 200 than 300).
I live in China, so I have an access to all Taobao shops and Chinese DAC manufacturers.

Done some googling, looks like Topping DX7s is what I need, but is there any decent DAC with bluetooth/AirPlay option so my friends can stream music from their iPhones?
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

I live in China too. I would suggest to buy a raspberry pi(install volumio)+ Topping d50. You dont need the balanced output since you only gain 2-3db sinad which is inaudible. By the way dont spend too much on dacs since your speaker isn’t that much expensive. If I were you, I may buy a topping d10 and put $100 more on speaker

 

[Bamboszek]

Could you explain what you base this on? Are you talking about noise that is not rejected by the single-ended connection or noise from some other source?

My Presonus Eris E8 has both RCA and balanced XLR/TRS in. When connected with unbalanced RCA it's possible to hear common mode noise and sometimes high frequency hiss. It isn't really that disturbing, can be heard only in nearfield and without music playing.
When connected with balanced TRS or XLR they are almost dead quiet, need to put ear on tweeter to hear anything. Same source and same gain. It could be because my poor mains but I've seen lots of similar posts with other monitors. Better safe than sorry. Balanced sources can be found almost in same price as SE ones.

 

[andreasmaaan]

My Presonus Eris E8 has both RCA and balanced XLR/TRS in. When connected with unbalanced RCA it's possible to hear common mode noise and sometimes high frequency hiss. It isn't really that disturbing, can be heard only in nearfield and without music playing.
When connected with balanced TRS or XLR they are almost dead quiet, need to put ear on tweeter to hear anything. Same source and same gain. It could be because my poor mains but I've seen lots of similar posts with other monitors. Better safe than sorry. Balanced sources can be found almost in same price as SE ones.

Which source are you using? I'd say the culprit is very unlikely to be common mode noise - much more likely to be due to the gain structure.

 

[Bamboszek]

Audient iD4 interface but tried with diffrent sources like Creative X-Fi Titanium HD soundcard or phone.

 

[BurritoJustice]

I own Focal Alpha 80s and the unbalanced input is noisy garbage even with a high quality DAC. The unbalanced input is specifically a fallback not a recommended connection.

I'd recommend a cheap pro interface that has monitor outs (I previously used a Focusrite Scarlett), the SMSL SU-8 as it has balanced outputs and a remote (very useful), or the DX7s like you said if you want the headphone amp (and don't mind 10ohm output impedance).

I personally use an RME ADI-2 Pro but that is immense overkill.

 

[andreasmaaan]

I own Focal Alpha 80s and the unbalanced input is noisy garbage even with a high quality DAC. The unbalanced input is specifically a fallback not a recommended connection.

I'd recommend a cheap pro interface that has monitor outs (I previously used a Focusrite Scarlett), the SMSL SU-8 as it has balanced outputs and a remote (very useful), or the DX7s like you said if you want the headphone amp (and don't mind 10ohm output impedance).

I personally use an RME ADI-2 Pro but that is immense overkill.

I’m disappointed to hear that. There’s nothing I can find in their documentation to warn users it’s not a recommended connection. Why they include it at all is beyond me in that case. As is how they can make it produce so different a result from the balanced input.

 

[BurritoJustice]

I’m disappointed to hear that. There’s nothing I can find in their documentation to warn users it’s not a recommended connection. Why they include it at all is beyond me in that case. As is how they can make it produce so different a result from the balanced input.

I thought I remembered something saying that but I likely got it mixed up with something else. It is however common for pro focused studio monitors to be focused on balanced input.

The main issue I have with using the unbalanced input is a loud buzzing tone, that I couldn't put down to a grounding issue as it occurred just going from my phone on battery to a single monitor.

 

[andreasmaaan]

I thought I remembered something saying that but I likely got it mixed up with something else. It is however common for pro focused studio monitors to be focused on balanced input.

The main issue I have with using the unbalanced input is a loud buzzing tone, that I couldn't put down to a grounding issue as it occurred just going from my phone on battery to a single monitor.

It’s hard to believe that’s not a fault TBH.

 

[Raice]

I own Focal Alpha 80s and the unbalanced input is noisy garbage even with a high quality DAC. The unbalanced input is specifically a fallback not a recommended connection.

I'd recommend a cheap pro interface that has monitor outs (I previously used a Focusrite Scarlett), the SMSL SU-8 as it has balanced outputs and a remote (very useful), or the DX7s like you said if you want the headphone amp (and don't mind 10ohm output impedance).

I personally use an RME ADI-2 Pro but that is immense overkill.

Shame on me. Already ordered DX3pro
Will check the sound, and try to return it, may be. Anyway, thanks for information!

 

[Raice]

What do you think about HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro with balanced output? Keep DX3Pro for movies and BT connection and HiFiBerry+VolumeIO for music?

 

[andreasmaaan]

Shame on me. Already ordered DX3pro
Will check the sound, and try to return it, may be. Anyway, thanks for information!

If there is a problem and you can’t return the DAC, please let us know here. There may be solutions that don’t involve new equipment. I’m also still pretty optimistic that @BurritoJustice’s equipment was faulty and that you’ll have no issue. There’s just no good reason for the unbalanced input to not work every bit as well as the balanced input unless something is broken.

 

[BurritoJustice]

Shame on me. Already ordered DX3pro
Will check the sound, and try to return it, may be. Anyway, thanks for information!

I think I agree with @andreasmaaan on this one, it is quite possible that it might be an isolated case and the DX3pro works fine. It is certainly the best all-in-one in the price range. Worth a shot.