DAC for a Hi-Fi System

sfosselman

Well as some of you know I have just purchased a Belles 21a tube preamp to go along with my Parasound HCA-1200ii, Polk SDA 1C's, and Sonographe SG-3 TT. I do believe (for now) I am set for analog audio. Now if I wanted to expand into the digital world I would need,(this is where you guys come in), an external DAC to bypass the worthless one in my laptop. I do have a small HRT Microstreamer I use on the go for headphone listening sessions but I feel that would not due the home system justice...Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated...Thanks

motorhead43026

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/168179/the-year-of-dacs#latest

sfosselman

Thanks for the offer....I'm looking more for an external DAC only to connect to the preamp...My budget is around $500 give or take

sfosselman

With DAC technology moving so rapidly, I am looking for a DAC to do my home system justice in regards to playback from my laptop, but not break the bank

[Deleted User]

I'd recommend emo DAC but we know how that goes!
that iFI stuff is interesting but I have no experience with it.
If you have a MAC bitperfect is mandatory and was well worth it
to me. (if a bit flaky)

Nightfall

This is what you want, right here. Those wood panels make it sexy, if I do say so myself.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marhddac1/marantz-hd-dac1-headphone-amplifier-with-dac-mode/1.html

If you decide to buy headphones in the future you'll be all set.

slbenz

Nightfall wrote: »

This is what you want, right here. Those wood panels make it sexy, if I do say so myself.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marhddac1/marantz-hd-dac1-headphone-amplifier-with-dac-mode/1.html

If you decide to buy headphones in the future you'll be all set.

Earlier this year, I took the family on vacation in Florida and stopped by the Accessories4Less office/warehouse. The owner and staff are very nice people and they gave me a tour of their facility. I would not hesitate to purchase from them again.

txcoastal1

DSkip wrote: »

If/when the SACD player I have sells, I will be getting one of those in for demo. I really need to see how they stack up for the money.

I Could see Marantz HD-DAC1, Ampino Stereo Amp, Usher 6311/6300 making a nice package
Hmmmm

sfosselman

Looks very sleek but has some unneeded extras that bring up the price....headphone amp and preamp....I'm looking for just a high quality DAC I can hook to the Belles

Nightfall

Take the money you have for a DAC now and add to it for a month or three. No? Then:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AudioQuest-DragonFly-1-2-Asynchronous-USB-DAC-/161864368488?hash=item25afde4168:g:9E8AAOSwFnFWDq0P

sfosselman

So $500 is not going to cut it huh

Irrenhaus

As always check the Essence DAC(good reviews) or a TEAC. That is my experience. My first DAC was an Audio Alchelmy DAC in the box, love that thing. I do still have it but I need a power supply for it. Also Oppo does a great work.

Cheers

heiney9

Look for used Eastern Electric Mini Max Dac or Dac Plus. You won't be disappointed. Read the reviews and user reviews. Sabre chipset, tube or solid state output, lots of inputs, excellent design and build. Excellent analog and power supply section.

Do some research, it's a winner

Cheers

H9

ZLTFUL

Peachtree's DACiTx is a solid entry level sub-$500 DAC as well as the Cambridge Audio DACMagic 100...

tonyb

heiney9 wrote: »

Look for used Eastern Electric Mini Max Dac or Dac Plus. You won't be disappointed. Read the reviews and user reviews. Sabre chipset, tube or solid state output, lots of inputs, excellent design and build. Excellent analog and power supply section.

Do some research, it's a winner

Cheers

H9

Brock, I think his budget is a nickel, I don't think the Mini Max sells for that even used.

Depends too on what you want the dac to do/decode. For a basic dac, the PS Audio dl3 used are well in his budget and offer up some good sound. Teac dacs should definitely be on your radar also. The Essense dac, Cary Xciter, Audio-gd, Arcam Rdac, Music Hall, Musical Fidelity M1.....Though with the other associated gear might bring a tad too much warmth to the table.

I think the Cambridge Dac Magic for the price brings a lot to the show too. So many dac options out there, it's really a matter of flavor and synergy.

helipilotdoug

I use the HRT Music Streamer HD and am very pleased with it. I have one in stock, $499.95 minus your 10% Club Polk discount = $449.96 shipped. PM me if interested.

sfosselman

Well....I took you up on your suggestion @heiney9 and went for the Eastern Electric Mini Max Supreme...I was able to get it at a price I could not refuse

george daniel

Attaboy! Now work some overtime,,,we have to start tube rolling in the Belles!

tonyb

sfosselman wrote: »

Well....I took you up on your suggestion @heiney9 and went for the Eastern Electric Mini Max Supreme...I was able to get it at a price I could not refuse

Good choice, a musical piece that should gel well with the Belles. I'm impressed by your decision making, your putting together a super sweet system there. Rock on my man, let us know how it all sounds.

heiney9

NM, I see the OP took the plunge

heiney9

sfosselman wrote: »

Well....I took you up on your suggestion @heiney9 and went for the Eastern Electric Mini Max Supreme...I was able to get it at a price I could not refuse

Ha! That's awesome!! You will love it, for sure! That Belles is sweet too! The Belles was a contender when I was looking. I eventually got the EE Mini Max Pre.

H9

sfosselman

I will give my feedback as pieces come in... Let the tube rolling begin!

marvda1

see the preamp is out for delivery. when you turn it on there is a warm up period where the remote will not work, so don't panic.

tonyb

marvda1 wrote: »

see the preamp is out for delivery. when you turn it on there is a warm up period where the remote will not work, so don't panic.

Interesting....so the old girl is a Jewish pre amp ?

Rex81

I'm very happy with my Emotiva XDA 2 that I bought directly from Emotiva for $200, during a half off sale. It's got volume control, remote, input selection, and headphone out so it's really a preamp/dac/headphone amp combo.

RamZet

Why dont you skip the PC and buy a media server, like something from Autonomics.
http://www.autonomic-controls.com/products_hardware_mirage_MMS-2A.php
McIntosh version
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=mediastreamers&ProductId=MB100

sfosselman

I specifically wold like to stream Kodi, if that is available for these servers it could be a viable option

tonyb

sfosselman wrote: »

I specifically wold like to stream Kodi, if that is available for these servers it could be a viable option

The problem with that is, a dac is only going to give you 2 channel. Streaming 5.1 to a 2 channel dac isn't going to work. Unless you don't care and the Kodi lets you adjust the output to 2 channel.

This is why many build their own HT PC's. Kodi by itself isn't on par with the gear you just bought imho.

Everything you just bought revolves around 2 channel listening, not movies. You might have been better served with a HT processor like a Cary cinema 12, Arcam, Anthem, etc. Which all would be great for 2 channel also and have pretty good dacs in all of them too.

You could also get a good receiver to handle the movie part from the Kodi, and use the Belles with that by it's HT pass thru.

Point is, if you want to do surround sound for movies coming out of the Kodi, you need something to decode it. A receiver, a HT processor....a dac alone won't cut the mustard.

sfosselman

The plan may be to use thr amp for two channel (through the Belles 21a pre) and 5 channel with the HT bypass to my Rotel AVR

tonyb

Is this for one system or 2 separate systems ? If for one, why can't you use the 5 channel amp and do away with the 2 channel amp ? You'd have problems connecting both amps to the same speakers.

Maybe I'm just confused as to what your trying to accomplish.... it is early.

sfosselman

Haha..no worries. I would be using the 5 channel for the speakers and the parasound for sub duty through the receiver