Recommned me a DAC for a pair of Kali LP6 V2's

[Scoobz1]

Could you please recommend to me a DAC that has usb in and preferably balanced XLR's out so I can bypass the sound card on my PC (incredibly noisy) and go straight to my new Kali active Lp6 speakers.

It would be useful if it has auto on and off detection. I will be mainly using it for You Tube listening and Spotify. If anything can increase the quality of the streaming on the PC or by bypassing it that would also be appreciated as well .

Many thanks

Scoobz

 

[staticV3]

It would be useful if it has auto on and off detection. I will be mainly using it for You Tube listening and Spotify.

Of the brands frequently discussed here, I believe only Topping offer signal sense auto standby/wakeup.

The least expensive balanced DACs with auto standby are the E50, E70, and D50III.

Personally, I'd choose the E50 or D50 since you can power them from a phone charger and connect to your PC via Optical, which will give you the best possible protection against interference noise.

Technically there's the D10 Balanced as well, but it depends on being plugged into the PC for power and on the PC turning off its USB ports when shut down for its auto on/off to function.

Important to reiterate:
You're not compromising on sound quality by choosing a budget DAC. All of them are fully transparent converters, which means you'll hear your music as-is, with nothing added or removed by the DAC.

If anything can increase the quality of the streaming on the PC or by bypassing it that would also be appreciated as well .

That would put you in the category of Streamers, which demand a hefty premium over simple DACs, without improving sound quality over streaming from your PC.

The least expensive Steamer I know of with Balanced out is the DMP-A6.

 

[unpluggged]

You're not compromising on sound quality by choosing a budget DAC. All of them are fully transparent converters, which means you'll hear your music as-is, with nothing added or removed by the DAC.

It can also be noted that the OP have already chosen a very budget codec that is built into the speakers, so there is indeed no point in chasing numbers or spending too much

 

[Scoobz1]

Thanks Static will take a look at the mentioned DACs ...

Unplugged struggling to fully grasp your point on Codec re the Kali speakers. So i asked Co-pilot and got this reply which is kind of ther answer i was expecting ...


if i have a an external DAc will the DAC in the Kali lp6 cancel it out

Great question—and the short answer is: no, it won’t cancel it out, but it depends on how you connect things.
The Kali LP-6 speakers are active monitors, which means they expect an analog signal. If you're using an external DAC, like one connected via USB to your computer, and then sending the signal to the LP-6 via balanced XLR, TRS, or unbalanced RCA, you're already bypassing any internal digital processing. In that case, the speaker’s internal DAC (if present at all) isn’t doing anything—because it’s receiving analog audio.
The “budget codec” comment you mentioned earlier likely refers to the internal DSP used when feeding the speaker a digital signal, such as via Bluetooth or USB (if those were supported—which the LP-6 doesn’t natively do). But since the LP-6 only accepts analog inputs, your external DAC is doing the heavy lifting, and the speaker just amplifies the signal.
So, if you're using a good external DAC, you're in great shape. Want help picking one that pairs well with the LP-6? Or are you already using one?

 

[XpanD]

Co-Pilot is wrong there. The LP-6 V2's DSP (digital signal processor) is always active. Kali says the following:

"DSP
The LP-6 and LP-8 are equipped with digital signal processing (DSP.) The DSP on the
LP-Series controls the loudspeaker’s tuning, the limiter function, the crossover, the
boundary EQs, and user definable HF and LF trim."

The DSP has to be fed a digital signal, so incoming audio is first ran through an internal ADC to let that do its thing. After this, an internal DAC converts the processed signal back to analog so it can drive the amplifiers. Very common on active speakers. ("very budget codec" sounds a lot scarier than it should in this context, it'll sound just fine)

If you get a reliable DAC with the features you want, you should be good to go. The double conversion won't be audible. (as long as that separate DAC doesn't introduce any audible issues of its own, of course, but that's a very low bar to clear nowadays)

 

[JSmith]

There are so many threads just like this... unsure why we can't have a master "what dac should I buy" thread.

There are many more DAC's than just Topping... check the review index;

Master Audio Review Index

www.audiosciencereview.com

Further, DAC's are not specific to a speaker type or brand.


JSmith

 

[Scoobz1]

There are so many threads just like this... unsure why we can't have a master "what dac should I buy" thread.

There are many more DAC's than just Topping... check the review index;

Master Audio Review Index

www.audiosciencereview.com

Further, DAC's are not specific to a speaker type or brand.


JSmith

I had a specific set of requirments and there are over 23 pages for DACS - so for me it was better to get down to a cut list then look each up via the reviews. Furthermore even after reading the reviews it wasnt clear whether some of them had what i was looking for in terms of features (auto on and off etc.) So big thank you to those who helped

 

[Scoobz1]

I had a specific set of requirments and there are over 23 pages for DACS - so for me it was better to get down to a cut list then look each up via the reviews. Furthermore even after reading the reviews it wasnt clear whether some of them had what i was looking for in terms of features (auto on and off etc.) So big thank you to those who helped

Furthermore I had no idea at the time whether the speakers would have any influence on recommendations / choice....

 

[Pushkarmd]

Fosi ZD3 is also best DAC you can go for

 

[SirkoSobaka]

Could you please recommend to me a DAC that has usb in and preferably balanced XLR's out so I can bypass the sound card on my PC (incredibly noisy) and go straight to my new Kali active Lp6 speakers.

What did you end up buying, OP?

I have a pair of MM-6s - basically LP-6 V2s but with more inputs and with auto-standby. I can connect them to my PC via 3.5mm-2xRCA and optical SPDIF. I'm using optical SPDIF right now.
If I were to buy a DAC, I'd connect each speaker to DAC's balanced XLR outputs, which would effectively make them the same as LP6-V2s.

I was also thinking about the whole DSP-ADC-DAC thing, which I don't fully understand.
1. If I were to use an external DAC, the path would be:
Digital from the PC through USB into an external DAC -> external DAC converts into analog -> analog from an external DAC into the speakers -> speaker's internal ADC converts into digital -> DSP does it's thing -> speaker's internal DAC converts into analog -> sound.
I wonder how much effect an external DAC would have in that case, and what would be the difference between a cheap ~100$ one and a more expensive device.
2. Right now, I'm using my PC's SPDIF out, so the path is:
PC's internal sound card sends out an optical signal (I'm not sure what kind of conversion happens here, does the internal sound card's onboard devices do some lifting, or is it some kind of a simple translation to create optical, and then it spews out the resulting signal) -> optical signal goes right into the DSP -> DSP does it's thing -> speaker's internal DAC converts into analog -> sound.
The ADC conversion should be skipped here since the speakers are receiving an optical signal.
Should this result in good sound quality? Will the speakers sound better/worse or different/same when fed with analog from an external DAC via XLR?

The problem is that I'm new to all this and have no experience with other audio devices. I just want a good sound out of my Kalis. I mean, they sound great, much better than my old speakers, but that's hardly a difficult bar to clear...

Also, what do you mean by "incredibly noisy"? When I connected my speakers with a 3.5mm (from the PC motherboard) - 2xRCA (to the speakers) cable, and the PC and both speakers were on the same power strip (extension cord), I got a loud noise from the speakers, as if the PC was searching for a radio station. At first, I thought my Kalis were defective. But this was the effect of a ground loop. It can be simply fixed by disconnecting the ground (yellow in my country) cable in the extension cord. This effect is not present when connecting via an optical SPDIF cable.

 

[staticV3]

I wonder how much effect an external DAC would have in that case, and what would be the difference between a cheap ~100$ one and a more expensive device.

No matter how good the external DAC (Even a $10k Mola Mola), it would equal or lose out to straight digital into the MM-6.

No DA->AD chain, regardless of price, can beat straight digital w/o conversion.

The ADC conversion should be skipped here since the speakers are receiving an optical signal.
Should this result in good sound quality?

Depends on whether your soundcard is doing anything to the signal.

If you're curious, all that you need to test and quantify your soundcard's output quality is a HiFime UR23 and freeware like REW or Pkane Deltawave.

Edit:
All this applies only if Kali are feeding the MM-6 DSP crossover directly from the digital inputs.

It's technically possible that the digital inputs go into an extra internal DAC, which is then connected to the same signal chain as the analog inputs.

That's convoluted and should drive up the BOM for no good reason, but it's not unprecedented (e.g. Adam D3V).

 

[SirkoSobaka]

Thanks, that was such a great answer!

Depends on whether your soundcard is doing anything to the signal.

If you're curious, all that you need to test and quantify your soundcard's output quality is a HiFime UR23 and freeware like REW or Pkane Deltawave.

I don't think it does. The sound card has various settings for analog outputs for speakers and headphones, but optical is just "signal out" and nothing in the software seems to affect it. I guess I could test it, sounds like it's not very difficult.
I could also buy a small USB-optical converter that I found a review for on this forum. Looks like the smallest of the 3 that costs only $35 does everything I need. I won't have to rely on the audio card in my PC, and it will allow me to connect my phone and laptop too.

All this applies only if Kali are feeding the MM-6 DSP crossover directly from the digital inputs.

It's technically possible that the digital inputs go into an extra internal DAC, which is then connected to the same signal chain as the analog inputs.

That's convoluted and should drive up the BOM for no good reason, but it's not unprecedented (e.g. Adam D3V).

I guess I could email Kali and ask them. I'll do that.

 

[SirkoSobaka]

It's technically possible that the digital inputs go into an extra internal DAC, which is then connected to the same signal chain as the analog inputs.

That's convoluted and should drive up the BOM for no good reason, but it's not unprecedented (e.g. Adam D3V).

It is indeed how it works. This is what I've been told:

Looks like there's a lot of flipping going on in there.