Recommendation for Preamp/Dac combo

rburgess714
rburgess714 Posts: 616
in Electronics
Looking for a used preamp/dac combo for office 2 channel rig. Will be paired with B&K 200.2 and the source will be a laptop or chromecast. Recently saw a Peachtree Audio pre/dac on the fm which sold in no time. Looking for something similar or perhaps a used CA Dac Magic? Would like to spend no more than $250.
Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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Comments

  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    I'm not having any luck coming up with something that meets your needs for $250 :(
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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    Thoughts on Emotiva Pt 100?
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    I'm sure it's not terrible, but I would increase my budget before going with that option. Just my opinion.
    rburgess714 wrote: »
    Thoughts on Emotiva Pt 100?

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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    Clipdat wrote: »
    I'm sure it's not terrible, but I would increase my budget before going with that option. Just my opinion.
    rburgess714 wrote: »
    Thoughts on Emotiva Pt 100?

    Yeah I don’t hear much about them on here. My office is 20 ft from my living room so I really don’t need this but cycled my P5 back in the ht and am left with an amp and some 703s with no front end.

    Thanks,
    RB
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    It's too bad that these haven't dropped in price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cambridge-Audio-Azur-DacMagic-Plus-Silver-in-box-DAC-Magic/162955916561
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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    Clipdat wrote: »
    It's too bad that these haven't dropped in price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cambridge-Audio-Azur-DacMagic-Plus-Silver-in-box-DAC-Magic/162955916561

    That’s actually what I meant, the plus not the older dac magic I mentioned in my post.
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    Hey the auction says "Best Offer" accepted. Shoot one over for $250-275, you never know.
    rburgess714 wrote: »
    Clipdat wrote: »
    It's too bad that these haven't dropped in price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cambridge-Audio-Azur-DacMagic-Plus-Silver-in-box-DAC-Magic/162955916561

    That’s actually what I meant, the plus not the older dac magic I mentioned in my post.

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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    rburgess714 wrote: »
    Clipdat wrote: »
    It's too bad that these haven't dropped in price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cambridge-Audio-Azur-DacMagic-Plus-Silver-in-box-DAC-Magic/162955916561

    That’s actually what I meant, the plus not the older dac magic I mentioned in my post.

    I think that would do.
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    Good call. Here's one that didn't sell, might be able to contact the seller and see if it's still for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Essence-HDACC-DAC-Pre-Amp-Headphone-Amp-with-HDMI-Support-/122995160302

    These things seem to be fairly rare.
    DSkip wrote: »
    Essence hdacc might fit that budget nowadays.

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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    DSkip wrote: »
    Essence hdacc might fit that budget nowadays.
    Not familiar with that one but that’s not saying much. I will do some research.
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Good call. Here's one that didn't sell, might be able to contact the seller and see if it's still for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Essence-HDACC-DAC-Pre-Amp-Headphone-Amp-with-HDMI-Support-/122995160302

    These things seem to be fairly rare.
    DSkip wrote: »
    Essence hdacc might fit that budget nowadays.
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Good call. Here's one that didn't sell, might be able to contact the seller and see if it's still for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Essence-HDACC-DAC-Pre-Amp-Headphone-Amp-with-HDMI-Support-/122995160302

    These things seem to be fairly rare.
    DSkip wrote: »
    Essence hdacc might fit that budget nowadays.

    It’s local. Good stuff?
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    @halo is a fan
    rburgess714 wrote: »
    It’s local. Good stuff?

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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    Clipdat wrote: »
    @halo is a fan
    rburgess714 wrote: »
    It’s local. Good stuff?

    Just emailed the guy. Thanks
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    DSkip wrote: »
    Have you considered a second Aries Mini? Slightly above the price but much more functionality.

    And use the lightning app for volume control?
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • DaveHo
    DaveHo Posts: 3,515
    What are you using for a source? I recently considered picking up an Essence HDACC, but discovered there is no Win10 support for the USB input. And judging by the description on the Essence web site, there is no plan to support it since the HDACC II does.
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  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    The essence HDACC is a very good DAC. Unbeatable at that price in my humble opinion.
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    Why wouldn't it just support it natively? I've tried three USB DACs recently on Win10 and haven't had to install a driver for any of them, everything just worked.
    DaveHo wrote: »
    What are you using for a source? I recently considered picking up an Essence HDACC, but discovered there is no Win10 support for the USB input. And judging by the description on the Essence web site, there is no plan to support it since the HDACC II does.

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  • DaveHo
    DaveHo Posts: 3,515
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Why wouldn't it just support it natively? I've tried three USB DACs recently on Win10 and haven't had to install a driver for any of them, everything just worked.
    DaveHo wrote: »
    What are you using for a source? I recently considered picking up an Essence HDACC, but discovered there is no Win10 support for the USB input. And judging by the description on the Essence web site, there is no plan to support it since the HDACC II does.

    I haven't had a large number of DACs, but have not had any that didn't require a driver for Windows USB support. Some use the standard Windows drivers, some do not. At any rate this is what Essence states in their product description for the HDACC:

    Note: No USB audio driver required for Mac Computers; USB Audio Driver support for Win 7 / 8 computers only; for Win 10 computer support we offer the model HDACC II-4K. We encourage Win 10 adopters to use the HDMI output of their PC, the data rate increases from 500 Mbps (USB) to 10.2 Gbps (HDMI) for hi res sources. The faster the better when it comes to hi def video and hi res audio.
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  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 616
    My concern is I am on my phone a lot for work and the lightning ds app has been hanging lately. I would rather have a knob to turn down should a call come in. I could could get a iPad to manage but at that point I might as well by a proper pre or as Tony suggested an older processor.
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED

    Office
    Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    halo wrote: »
    The essence HDACC is a very good DAC. Unbeatable at that price in my humble opinion.

    Essence has em on sale now for $399 free shipping.
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
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