System under 500$

[daide]

Hello,
my current desktop system now is a VDac II connected through Usb to the motherboard of my pc and a Topping TP31 to drive a pair of bookshelf speakers. I was thinking to change Dac and amp and add a hedphone amp, intrigued by reading here I was torn between the combo Khadas+Atom, Topping D50s+Atom, Behringer UMC204HD+Atom, other combinations? And then I need to add an amp for the speakers to the chain. Can anyone help me?

Thanks in advance

Ps
then I will change also the stereo system in my living room, but this is another story, If I will not able to transplant the Pc system and use this also there

 

[BillG]

At ~$500 USD, this is about as good as it gets for speaker amplification:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-of-yamaha-wxa-50-streaming-amp.7964/

However, there's no headphone port on the unit, just line level auxiliary RCA outs...

 

[daide]

At ~$500 USD, this is about as good as it gets for speaker amplification:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...urements-of-yamaha-wxa-50-streaming-amp.7964/

However, there's no headphone port on the unit, just line level auxiliary RCA outs...

thanks for the answer , but so to that one I need to add an headphone amp? It is so much better as dac or equal to the other one i mentioned earlier?

 

[Island_Kenny]

Hello,
my current desktop system now is a VDac II connected through Usb to the motherboard of my pc and a Topping TP31 to drive a pair of bookshelf speakers. I was thinking to change Dac and amp and add a hedphone amp, intrigued by reading here I was torn between the combo Khadas+Atom, Topping D50s+Atom, Behringer UMC204HD+Atom, other combinations? And then I need to add an amp for the speakers to the chain. Can anyone help me?

Thanks in advance

Ps
then I will change also the stereo system in my living room, but this is another story, If I will not able to transplant the Pc system and use this also there

IMO, onboard sound cards are sufficient (probably excluding really cheap ones) and you have the benefit of EQ, so save the money for DAC and spend on Cans/Speakers

not that I cannot hear the difference, just they do not make a difference in terms of how much I enjoy. I sometimes alter btw standard lineout (MacPro 5.1) and DAC(SMSL 300 balanced out), after listening 10 minutes, if I forget which one I am on, I cannot tell. Using mac onboard line out, I can adjust EQ based on the music, using DAC, no such option at least for budget ones.

 

[BillG]

but so to that one I need to add an headphone amp?

As Kenny just mentioned, the headphone amp on your motherboard may be sufficient for your needs. You could buy a separate headphone amp for use with the Yamaha, but that will drive your cost up by at least $75 for a decent one I'd guess. Someone else here might be able to recommend a lower cost one as I'm not very knowledgeable about them...

 

[BillG]

Here's another integrated amplifier in your price range that I'd like to recommend to you, this time with a headphone amp. I would have suggested it first, but at 50 watts into 4 Ohms on its speaker outputs it's a little low powered for my taste - it should be sufficient for a desktop system in the average sized room, though:

https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-A6-Amplifier-Headphone-Converter/dp/B06W2FT2D6

Here's a review of it, with some performance measurements of its DAC subsystem:

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2017/07/review-smsl-a6-integrated-amplifier.html

P. S. One of the company's representatives hangs out here occasionally, "smsl Mandy" is her alias, if you'd like to ask them some questions about it...

 

[Cahudson42]

Though we do not yet have an ASR review, the Yamaha as301/as501/as701 series appears well-thought of by many. The as301 at $349 leaves you $150 for headphone amp and DAC..

Yamaha A-S301BL Natural Sound Integrated Stereo Amplifier (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MXUCN0A/

Add the $9 Apple dongle and Atom for less than that.. Or stretch a bit for a D10/Atom or Khadas/Atom..