Music PC v/s entry level DACs

[panditji]

Wow, was looking for someone with the Halide HD DAC..Have you compared with other DACs in the same price range and what is your opinion?

 

[vsg]

Well the dac was bought from London in my last visit there infact my whole audio system is sourced from there. Not sure if its still available in India. I also tried Rega, dragonfly. Some more expensive ones which I tested were NAD M51 (which is also a preamp) and Metrum. To my ears NAD sounded the best which it should given the 1500 GBP price tag (if you ever get a chance do try it ) For some reason Metrum sounded bit thin unlike the glowing reviews which I have seen.

As for the rest Halide sounded the best, I wanted to like the Rega but just couldn't adjust to the sound which was lifeless over USB but using a SFDIF converter the sound really opened up. For dragonfly it sounded much more compressed compared to Halide. Incase you have PC with a digital out then you should give Rega a try but strictly for Audio using PC I thought Halide DAC HD was the best bet. It really gives analog like sound, bass was quite tight unlike that of dragonfly and with a very nice midrange.
But end of the day as they all say only trust your ears that's the best judge. Hope that helps.

 

[anm]

since the USB/ async have become the buzzword, are there any great deals on older dacs with only optical/ coax inputs?

 

[Staxxx]

since the USB/ async have become the buzzword, are there any great deals on older dacs with only optical/ coax inputs?

I hazard to say that it has become buzzwords only because of the convenience and familiarity of connection. The implementation is still quite difficult (and expensive) to get right and often the equivalent coax (SPDIF) connections in budget and mid-priced machines could sound superior IMHO.

 

[asliarun]

Well the dac was bought from London in my last visit there infact my whole audio system is sourced from there. Not sure if its still available in India. I also tried Rega, dragonfly. Some more expensive ones which I tested were NAD M51 (which is also a preamp) and Metrum. To my ears NAD sounded the best which it should given the 1500 GBP price tag (if you ever get a chance do try it ) For some reason Metrum sounded bit thin unlike the glowing reviews which I have seen.

As for the rest Halide sounded the best, I wanted to like the Rega but just couldn't adjust to the sound which was lifeless over USB but using a SFDIF converter the sound really opened up. For dragonfly it sounded much more compressed compared to Halide. Incase you have PC with a digital out then you should give Rega a try but strictly for Audio using PC I thought Halide DAC HD was the best bet. It really gives analog like sound, bass was quite tight unlike that of dragonfly and with a very nice midrange.
But end of the day as they all say only trust your ears that's the best judge. Hope that helps.

Thanks for sharing your experiences - this is valuable info indeed! I like Halide's minimalistic NOS based design. I also noticed that the Halide DS DAC V2.1 is even more reasonably priced at $300 and for CD resolution music in entry level systems (such as mine), this is a very nice option. It is also interesting to know that you found this better than Dragonfly which itself is highly rated at its price point.

One question: Would you rate the Halide (or any others) as warm sounding?

 

[panditji]

Thanks vsg for your inputs....Since you have tested the Halide with the Dragonfly, it really helps me in making my decision...also a huge plus for the Halide is that it is the simplest possible solution with the added convenience of no powersupply and extra cabling needed...... Reviewers have maintained that the Schiit Bifrost and Halide are equal and either of them at their prices would be a good investment and since you prefer it over the Rega (on the USB implementation), I think I know what to buy now.....

The best part is it's simplicity as I plan to use it with my existing laptop.....

 

[vsg]

Hi Arun - Yes I would consider the Halide to be tad warm sounding. Thats why its important to match it with rest of your equipment specially with the speakers as some may already have a warm signature.

Panditji - I think it would be a good decision if your audio is restricted to PC which IMO would be the future unless you are using some classic turntable. But one caveat here would be most Dac's require significant breakin period around 200 hours or so. So please dont judge it unless you have seen through that period.