Best DAC

[chandrakiranraju]

Hello All,
Please suggest best VFM DAC.

 

[chandrakiranraju]

Also can anyone share their experience with Audioengine DAC?

 

[sjith]

@chandrakiranraju

here most of the forum members are very very serious about sound

they gathered the knowledge after continuous research and doing experiments in their system by upgrading, trying different combinations etc.

so if you are starting a thread, be more specific for getting the right feedback

1) source - cd player, pc, media player etc.

2) file type - flac files, mp3 etc.

3) budget - approx. 10k, 15k, 25k etc.

4) inputs required in the DAC - Optical, SPDIF, USB or all of these required

5) internal or external

6) stereo or 5.1 decoding purpose

7) briefing about the amplifier speakers using or planning to buy

8) any suggestions from our side or preferences based on make

9) outputs required - rca only, rca with xlr outputs o rca, xlr and headphone out

10) technical aspects like range 24-192 KHz, 24 Bit etc.

11) Type - portable to carry with your travel or to keep in the rack

12) buying options - local availability in india with warranty online buy etc.

13) etc.

 

[aphile]

search in

best for money or best for sound ?

start with fiio if ur budget is low below 6k

next audinst make 7k to 15k range

audioengine d1 12k

chck in ebay and for sale by owner section in hifivision (u can trust)

start with a base model and upgrade if required

 

[sajjad4joy]

JDLabs ODAC comes for 11k and its the best DAC I have heard so far for that price. All Hyderabad Audio people will vouch for that. .

 

[ajayk]

I own an Audioengine D1 and HRT Headstremer II. They are more or less even stevens when it comes to performance (and price), but I like the flexibility that D1 has (optical In, USB In, Analog outs and Headphone amp). That is VFM for me.

 

[sjith]

I own an Audioengine D1 and HRT Headstremer II. They are more or less even stevens when it comes to performance (and price), but I like the flexibility that D1 has (optical In, USB In, Analog outs and Headphone amp). That is VFM for me.

apart from the flexibility, these are 24bit/96khz dacs how you rate this limitation comapred to a 24/96khz dac
for flac, audio cd and mp3 this 96 factor is ok or ?

 

[asliarun]

apart from the flexibility, these are 24bit/96khz dacs how you rate this limitation comapred to a 24/96khz dac
for flac, audio cd and mp3 this 96 factor is ok or ?

24 bit DACs are basically overkill. They offer no practical benefit for CD quality audio. CD and hence flac and mp3 all digitize analog music in 16bits sampled at 44.1khz frequency. So it is pointless to have a DAC support anything more for CD quality music.

It is the equivalent of buying a 128bit computer when all apps are 32bit or at most 64bits. Or the new iPhone 5s which supports 64bit apps that can presumably address more than 3gb memory for a given app but thehone itself ironically has 1gb memory.

Here is a nice explanation.
24bit vs 16bit, the myth exploded!

Please also see my sig. I have been using it as a DAC and a preamp and it is a very sweet sounding DAC. And yes, it supports 32bit audio at 384khz or some such ;-) and it has a nice analog volume control which is extremely rare in a DAC.

 

[amarcom]

Please suggest Any good Indian website selling Dac's?

 

[Kittu]

There is an MF VDAC II on sale in this forum... Best VFM Dac.

 

[Vijay_s]

I am planning to upgrade from MicroMega Mydac if you are interested PM me. Recently another FM sold same DAC on for sale thread. Providing the link here for specification reference http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/47010-micromega-mydac-asynchronous-24bits-192khz-dac.html

 

[tanaka]

How is the Creative Sound Blaster X-FI? Thanks

 

[bhagwan]

Please suggest Any good Indian website selling Dac's?

Acoustic Portrait

I like this product.
I am not sure what the price point is;

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hello All,
Please suggest best VFM DAC.

Value For how much Money?

This much? (TEAC DAC for sale by forum member)


.

 

[IanU]

Has someone made a blind fold A/B comparison of some of the Dacs mentioned,regardless of price?

 

[netant]

Has someone made a blind fold A/B comparison of some of the Dacs mentioned,regardless of price?

mate there are various type of DAC's , any sane person will only compare with similar type, we shouldn't compare a buggy with a supersonic jet isn't it,

 

[taranfx]

"Best DAC" is a very vague statement. You can get best LightHarmonics' Da vinci DAC which costs $12,000

 

[theoctavist]

ive owned dacs at price points from 40 bucks all the way up to idiot territory(thousands)

best VFM??

Stealth DC-1 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifiers, a

it is the best ive ever owned. i challenge anyone to *test* it and not see that it is the equal of anything out there..

 

[bhagwan]

ive owned dacs at price points from 40 bucks all the way up to idiot territory(thousands)

best VFM??

Stealth DC-1 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifiers, a

it is the best ive ever owned. i challenge anyone to *test* it and not see that it is the equal of anything out there..

Interesting;
I have never auditioned this DAC - but @ 32/- K it looks like a nice ride 'home'
It would be nice to get a chance to listen to it - some time.
Does any FM have it ? I would like to visit for a demo / listen....

hyeah:

 

[IndianEars]

I have heard its smaller cousin ... XDA-2. A friend has it in Mumbai.

It looks Great. Sound quality .... I would rate it a bit charitably as "Middle end". :sad:

Given the fact that the DC-1 is almost 70% more expensive, it should sound better.... but to peg it in the "Best DAC" category, would be a Huge leap of faith

Ofcourse every one is entitled to their opinion.... which often is governed what the range of equipment one is exposed to.