Under $200 DAC recommendations?

[escape2]

Looking for a DAC with USB input and decent performance (SINAD) that has a nice physical volume/attenuation knob and display, and a remote control, under $200. What are my options here? Loxjie D30? Topping DX3 Pro? What else?

Thanks!

 

[ichonderoga]

have you looked at this ... https://public.tableau.com/shared/X...splay_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link&:embed=y ... I myself have the sanskrit 10th mkii and love it. the topping e30 is a direct competitor and is also excellent. also worth considering is the schiit modius. your choices within said price range are all excellent - since really good measuring dacs have come down a lot in price.

 

[Sukie]

Looking for a DAC with USB input and decent performance (SINAD) that has a nice physical volume/attenuation knob and display, and a remote control, under $200. What are my options here? Loxjie D30? Topping DX3 Pro? What else?

Thanks!

Your request for a volume knob is the tricky part. At this price this limits you to DAC/HPA combos. Both the Loxjie D30 and the Topping DX3 Pro are good choices. I can't think of any others off the top of my head. Are you specifically wanting a combo or is it just a DAC that you're after? A number of the DACs in this price range come with remotes that can be used to alter the volume, thus avoiding the need for a volume knob.

 

[raif71]

Approximately $130 dac, the Ifi Zen DAC

 

[Sukie]

View attachment 96444
View attachment 96445
Approximately $130 dac, the Ifi Zen DAC

Forgot that one - my bad!!!

 

[ZolaIII]

Try with SMSL M300 MKII, you can probably snatch it on discount for the mark you indicated. It regularly goes for around 250$.

 

[raif71]

Forgot that one - my bad!!!

Has the knob but no remote control though.

 

[Sukie]

Try with SMSL M300 MKII, you can probably snatch it on discount for the mark you indicated. It regularly goes for around 250$.

Good DAC but no knob!

 

[escape2]

Has the knob but no remote control though.

And no display.

 

[raif71]

And no display.

Well, if you consider the various lights at the knob as display of which bitrate it is playing at...

 

[escape2]

Well, if you consider the various lights at the knob as display of which bitrate it is playing at...

Thanks. I meant more like actual volume display (in -dB).

 

[wasnotwasnotwas]

Good day all. To me, just my opinion, the ultimate rating needs to include how the unit sounds. I know, I know, there have been threads ad nauseam on this topic that it is very very difficult to achieve comparing unit to unit without matched setups in A-B testing.

Please, don't. Lets just assume this one has been done a million times . Nearly 100 pages in this thread alone. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...le-thinking-a-dac-has-a-sound-signature.9245/

 

[wasnotwasnotwas]

As I acknowledged. Thanks.

T

Not quite. You acknowledged its difficult to compare without proper A/B testing. Missing the point that many here would say there is little to no point comparing DACs from a sonic perspective. The ultimate rating should not need to consider how a DAC sounds. At all.

 

[Sukie]

I wonder though if we could get a proxy for best sounding DACs by polling members here that have had two more DACs and asking them to stack rank (1,2,3..) just their own units (minimum 2) in terms of sound reproduction performance. Of course we'd have Amirm's list plus write-ins. Asking for their reference songs would be fun. Crowd sourceing this make sense to me as long as we have sufficient members responding. And most importantly this is NOT a definitive recommendation guide but just a preference poll that would likely need some interpretation before publishing.

Let's not do this. Let's use the measurements provided and make our choices. Lists of subjective preferences, particularly when it comes to DACs, are a long way from the aims, intentions and aspirations of this site.

Also, the OP made their criteria quite clear on this thread - good SINAD, display, remote and knob!

Sorry to be blunt, but it's useful to stay on topic rather than constantly rehash the listening vs measurements issue.

 

[MDAguy]

Maybe it's my age, and my ears... but I have a hard time telling the difference between a top end DAC like mine and a lower end DAC... what matters way more seems to be the quality of the original recording, and whether it's compressed or uncompressed digital .. the speakers matter a lot too. That said, I'm 51... maybe at 21 the difference would have been night and day .. and... I love the coolness factor of some of this stuff (geek factor??).

 

[volkl77n]

many here would say there is little to no point comparing DACs from a sonic perspective

Why?
If my understanding of typical DAC construction isn't completely wrong, and ignoring the relative or subjective differences between DAC chips and how the engineer has employed them and their feature set, once the D/A conversion has occurred the signal is put through an output amplifier.
I don't think anyone would dispute that different amplifier designs and the various levels of component quality have different sonic signatures, so why would the output stage of a DAC be any different?

 

[Sukie]

Maybe it's my age, and my ears... but I have a hard time telling the difference between a top end DAC like mine and a lower end DAC... what matters way more seems to be the quality of the original recording, and whether it's compressed or uncompressed digital .. the speakers matter a lot too. That said, I'm 51... maybe at 21 the difference would have been night and day .. and... I love the coolness factor of some of this stuff (geek factor??).

I've no problem at all with people buying expensive gear. There's more to things we own than their functionality.

Having said this I've come to embrace the beauty of the bargain product, particularly when I look at my JDS Atom HPA and my Topping D10s! My wife didn't quite embrace this when a D10s appeared on my work desk. She asked "what the f**k is a CB radio doing in your study?"!!!

Reflecting on this thread, I do think the Loxjie ticks all the boxes and exhibits the beauty of the bargain product.

 

[wasnotwasnotwas]

Why?
If my understanding of typical DAC construction isn't completely wrong, and ignoring the relative or subjective differences between DAC chips and how the engineer has employed them and their feature set, once the D/A conversion has occurred the signal is put through an output amplifier.
I don't think anyone would dispute that different amplifier designs and the various levels of component quality have different sonic signatures, so why would the output stage of a DAC be any different?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...le-thinking-a-dac-has-a-sound-signature.9245/

 

[Sukie]

Why?
If my understanding of typical DAC construction isn't completely wrong, and ignoring the relative or subjective differences between DAC chips and how the engineer has employed them and their feature set, once the D/A conversion has occurred the signal is put through an output amplifier.
I don't think anyone would dispute that different amplifier designs and the various levels of component quality have different sonic signatures, so why would the output stage of a DAC be any different?

There is a vast amount already written on this forum concerning DACs and their lack of sound signatures. Might I respectively suggest that you look through these to find potential answers to your question?

EDIT: or just read the above post from @wasnotwasnotwas who has, helpfully, provided the link that I was too lazy to find!

 

[escape2]

have you looked at this ... https://public.tableau.com/shared/X...splay_count=y&:origin=viz_share_link&:embed=y ... I myself have the sanskrit 10th mkii and love it. the topping e30 is a direct competitor and is also excellent. also worth considering is the schiit modius. your choices within said price range are all excellent - since really good measuring dacs have come down a lot in price.

View attachment 96438

And which ones on this list come with a volume knob, volume display, and remote?