[markhellewell]

Hello MacTalkers,

I'm looking for some good aural and after I win the 90 mil. tonight I've got a few upgrades planned. First is to get a new amp. I'm very keen on building up a valve amp kit and making a custom hardwood enclosure for it. Current favourite is the popular and super awesome K-12M kit from S5 Electronics at US$189:

S-5 Electronics K-12M Tube Amplifier Kit

Second is a set of bookshelf speakers. Current favourite (based almost entirely on looks, I admit) is Usher S-520:

Stereophile: Usher Audio Technology S-520 loudspeaker

Third is to get a DAC so I can get the lovely FLAC sounds out of my macbook (and next year my MBP upgrade) pipe them through to the amp.

I don't know what DAC to buy. I'm not going to be producing music or anything, so simple+quality wins in my book. Can anyone on here recommend to me a nice optical or USB in and RCA out DAC unit?

[Kirium]

My headphone amp/DAC is a Zhaolu from COEM audio in Brisvegas.

Relatively cheap and made in china, but had great reviews on head-fi.org and works very well with my Beyer DT990s.

They've got a bunch of other DACs and DAC/Amp combos for sale.

Sources - DACs

Their customer service is very good. The DAC/amp I got had a dodgy opamp or capacitor somewhere which introduced noise into the circuit. They sent out a new one the day I called and were happy to wait for the new one to arrive before I sent the problem unit back.

[markhellewell]

Thank-you for pointing me at this site! Perfect! My Googles were rubbish

[bullrout]

DacMagic?
You can get them for about $600 I think.

I have an OMZ, pretty hard to beat for the price.

[dekco]

ive been using an alienDAC. am considering the more flexible http://www.amb.org/audio/gamma1/

[marc]

What about an Apogee Duet?
Apogee Electronics > Products > Duet

Why the valve amp? Generally speaking, stuff like that is no better than a modern transistor amp, just less reliable and more expensive.

[markhellewell]

Originally Posted by marc

What about an Apogee Duet?
Apogee Electronics > Products > Duet

I did come across that but I think it does "too much" for what I'm after or will every likely want to get into.

Originally Posted by marc

Why the valve amp? Generally speaking, stuff like that is no better than a modern transistor amp, just less reliable and more expensive.

Less reliable? Maybe I'm preparing for global thermonuclear armageddon? My Aunt has a light bulb in her house that she hasn't changed for 50 years and it gets daily use.

I'm keen on having a project to work on and something I can learn from. I also tend toward the analogue when I'm pissed off with having too much technology around, which is now.

[marc]

Originally Posted by markhellewell

I also tend toward the analogue

Transistor amps are analogue!
(I'm an analogue fan for some audio-related things too.)

Originally Posted by markhellewell

I'm keen on having a project to work on

Fair enough. Would be a fun one.

[markhellewell]

Originally Posted by marc

Transistor amps are analogue!

damn your logic!

[crb83]

Hey mate I have just got myself a Meier Audio Corda 3 Move it runs a PCM2702 DAC and is a great addition to my set up, I only have a cheap set of Logitech speakers but I will soon be upgrading to a Kingrex t20u with a pair of Johnblue JB3 speakers.

KingRex Audio

Meier Audio: Corda 3Move | Headphonic: Australian Headphone Specialists: Buy Etymotic, Alessandro, Audio Technica, Ultimate Ears, Talisman, Meier Audio and more

Stereo Sonics / Hi-Fi Audio / DACs / Computer Audio / USB Audio

There are heaps of links to reviews of these products I have been doing a lot of reading about them of late and have decided that the kingrex will be my home set up and the codra 3 move will be my mobile set up with a good set of headphones! Also the corda and the kingrex both run the same DAC the Burr Brown PCM2702.

[reemixx]

Originally Posted by Kirium

My headphone amp/DAC is a Zhaolu from COEM audio in Brisvegas.

Cool, I also have a Zhaolu from Coem Audio. It's the D2.5 with the upgraded headphone amp, which I also use as a preamp for my speakers. Cheap all-in-one unit that sounds pretty damn good. Then, when I get a better amp, I can still use the DAC component.

I did replace the opamps, though. The ones it came with (OPA2134) had too much sibilance. I've got the LT1057's in there now. Love 'em.

[liamhanigan]

I've been using the Musiland MD-10, which COEM sells.
I'm very happy with it, made a difference like night and day compared to built in audio on my Mac Mini, even sounds much better than my MBox.

Get something with USB, that's the best interface from my research. Also, I'm skeptical of any kind of up-sampling - make sure you can set the DAC to run at the resolution and bit-rate of your source material. I found running the MD-10 upscaled to 24 bit made the highs very dull and lifeless compared to 16 bit. I haven't heard a non-oversampling DAC but am curious to hear what it will sound like.

Having said all that, any dedicated DAC will be a big improvement over built in audio, even on the most ghetto system.

[bullrout]

Originally Posted by liamhanigan

I've been using the Musiland MD-10, which COEM sells.
I'm very happy with it, made a difference like night and day compared to built in audio on my Mac Mini, even sounds much better than my MBox.

Get something with USB, that's the best interface from my research. Also, I'm skeptical of any kind of up-sampling - make sure you can set the DAC to run at the resolution and bit-rate of your source material. I found running the MD-10 upscaled to 24 bit made the highs very dull and lifeless compared to 16 bit. I haven't heard a non-oversampling DAC but am curious to hear what it will sound like.

Having said all that, any dedicated DAC will be a big improvement over built in audio, even on the most ghetto system.

NOS DACs are very warm sounding, tube-like.

Upsampling and bit size are different things. Audio Midi settings should be 44.1Khz, 2ch-24bit and all iTunes enhancements should be switched off for bit perfect output to a DAC (from my research over the years anyway).

[virtoz]

A good site to have a look at for all things DAC is Computer Audiophile | High-End Audiophile Music Servers

I have a King Rex from COEM audio (just a USB Dac) which I am happy with for my 2nd system, though I'd probably invest a bit more for a Dac for my main system.

I notice you're in Melbourne - Carlton audio visual have the Cambridge DacMagic and the Musical Fidelity V-Dac, both of which are well reviewed. Sound Reference in Nth Fitzroy have a selection as well.

Just make sure you have a good idea of what connections you want to use before you purchase...
Cheers,
virtoz

[marc]

Originally Posted by bullrout

all iTunes enhancements should be switched off for bit perfect output to a DAC

YES YES YES YES YES!

Crossfade = Shouldn't do any damage. Use if you want.
Sound Enhancer = Horrible. Do not use if you have a good DAC, amp and speakers.
Sound Check = This will scale the audio (sample volume wise). Not the worst thing you can do, but certainly won't help. Again, leave it off!

[Darwiniandude]

Originally Posted by markhellewell

My Aunt has a light bulb in her house that she hasn't changed for 50 years and it gets daily use.

What does she use it for? I'm guessing for something other than providing illumination...



------

I love the DUET.

[liamhanigan]

Originally Posted by bullrout

Upsampling and bit size are different things.

I know what you're saying, but the bit depth is indeed 'upscaled' from 16 to 24 bit on some units, even when the sample rate is 44.1 khz. I thought the upscaled sound sucked on my unit. I'll assume upsampled sound sucks as well, and I'm curious about non-oversampled sound.

Do you own a NOS DAC?

Originally Posted by Darwiniandude

What does she use it for? I'm guessing for something other than providing illumination...

lol

Apparently some early Edison lamps are still burning away around the world, some are over 100 years old. They don't make em' like they used to!

[marc]

Originally Posted by liamhanigan

I know what you're saying, but the bit depth is indeed 'upscaled' from 16 to 24 bit on some units, even when the sample rate is 44.1 khz. I thought the upscaled sound sucked on my unit.

There's no technical reason why scaling from 16bit to 24bit (or any other higher bit depth) would cause any loss in quality—the additional bits can just be filled with 0s.

Example:

16 bit sample
0001010010100111

The same sample, as 24 bit
000101001010011100000000

[bullrout]

Originally Posted by liamhanigan

I know what you're saying, but the bit depth is indeed 'upscaled' from 16 to 24 bit on some units, even when the sample rate is 44.1 khz. I thought the upscaled sound sucked on my unit. I'll assume upsampled sound sucks as well, and I'm curious about non-oversampled sound.

Do you own a NOS DAC?

Try setting the bits to 24 on your Mac, if it's not it might make a difference.

Oversampling and upsampling are different too.

I have had two NOS DACS (DAC-AH, Constantine) and both sounded quite warm. They sound really nice but If you want a more accurate/neutral sound oversampling are better from my experience.

The Mhdt Laboratory Constantine is a really nice DAC.

[liamhanigan]

Originally Posted by bullrout

Try setting the bits to 24 on your Mac, if it's not it might make a difference.

I'll give that a shot to see if it sounds better, but otherwise I'm happy running @ 16bit.