Budget DAC suggestions - uDAC 2, MS2 or something else?

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Ritvik

Ritvik

Forerunner
Looking for a low budget DAC. Two reliable and obvious options are the uDac 2 and the Music Streamer 2.

The uDac 2 is about USD 130 and the Streamer is in stock in Singapore and sells at SGD 230 (about INR 8000) a little higher than its US rate of USD 150.

Any other options in this price range would be welcome as long as they're easily available.

Seeing as I have a neutral amp and with some mid-end neutral headphones possibly on the horizon a slightly warmish signature would be preferred.

This probably doesn't matter now, but at some stage I'll buy a pair of Grado HPs too, loved the MS1 and will get either the 225 or maybe do it right and get the RS1, but 8-10 months down the line.
 
Sorry for interrupting, i wish to know that if i need a DAC for better sound quality? i already have a Asus Xonar DX.

Is DAC of any use with PC?
 
killerz said:
Is DAC of any use with PC?
Click to expand...
Why not? :)

I gave up my DX for the Maverick DAC and it has served me well ever since. The DX for one, couldn't drive the high impedance cans so if I were to invest in a pair of high-end cans later, the DX would be of no use here. Besides, the pair of Cirrus Logic DACs on the DX is inferior to the unknown DAC the Maverick D1 utilizes. And most DACs in the market accepts a whole lot of digital inputs - USB, coaxial, optical.

Better sound quality? Depends on a whole lot of other factors such as the source, the speakers/cans etc.
 
the DAC makes a lot of difference , but only when the other equipments are on the same level.

DAC, amplifier and the transducer.
 
@Gannu,Strategy . Thanks for the response. Learnt something new today :) i too would like to know abt any budget DAC. Maverick D1 Dac is expensive , something under 7-8k.

I never knew abt what is it used for , but after reading these pages my doubts are cleared:

Maverick Audio - Tube Magic D1 DAC Why do I need a DAC?

http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1/how-it-works

Though 1 thing i dint get @Gannu , you say you gave up your DX for a DAC, and DX would be of no use here. But then how do you connect your DAC it to your PC? USB?, isnt it much better if you keep DX and connect DAC with optical output of DX?.
 
Ritvik, apologies for the threadjack and the OT posts! :ashamed:

killerz said:
Though 1 thing i dint get @Gannu , you say you gave up your DX for a DAC, and DX would be of no use here. But then how do you connect your DAC it to your PC? USB?, isnt it much better if you keep DX and connect DAC with optical output of DX?.
Click to expand...
USB is the most common input to the DAC since every PC has one and most DACs have a USB input. Most motherboards have the digital coaxial output (please Google!) and some have the digital Toslink output. They can all be used as inputs to the Maverick DAC.

Connecting a DAC to the output from the DX - not a good idea. Because the DAC doesn't do anything here. The function of the DAC is itself to convert all those 0s and 1s to a proper analog signal in terms of current or voltage or charge. When the DX in your PC has already done that, what is the point of feeding the analog signal to the Maverick DAC? Then again, if you use the toslink out available in the DX to connect to the DAC, you have bypassed the DX here because the signal is digital which can be fed by the motherboard's digital out itself!

Capice? :)
 
Capice :)

So will using a DAC help my HD555 a bit? :D

Cant find any DAC under 10k

FiiO E7 or DAC-1 USB DAC Ordnance Amplifiers are the only ones available online under the budget of 8k

Il guess ill ask my bro in US to get the Maverick D1 or NuForce uDAC-2. He works in Amazon, n coming this April. Can get it at a very good price. :tongue:
 
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