ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi
I know there have been discussions about the use of DACS etc with AE but wanted to find out if anyone has bought one and what they can recommend.
I have a BS3000 and some Beloab Penta II's, the aux input is connect to my AE so that I can stream music to it. I record in Apple Lossless. Compared to the Apple TV hootked upto the Avant the sound from the AE was not good. However I recently read that the AE has a digital output, so I connected this to an old Kenwood Amp and the Tape Out Sockets to the BS3000 just to see if it made a difference. It has made a massive difference, to the extent that I have never heard my speakers sound so good.
So this led me to think that if it is that good out of an old Amp with presumably an old DAC inside out, how much better it would it be with a dedicated DAC. Interested to hear your views
Currently I use a Little Dot DAC connected to my music PC to get audio into my BS 9000. It has USB, optical, and coax inputs, and both balanced and unbalanced outputs. I got it off eBay for about US $300, not sure if they make one for your voltage or not, but I've been quite happy with the sound. Also has a built in headphone amp and volume control.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Just to add, I am not sure a different DAC would sound much if any different from the one in the receiver, differences in DACs are usually grossly overstated in my experience. The AE is a different story as there are some obvious limitations with it compared with a more normal component. Might be smaller and more convenient though, depending on how much that's worth to you.
I've been using a Brik DAC through USB for som time now, and I'm quite happy with it. It was dead cheap at about €80, but sounds very well. It has USB, optical and coax inputs.
/ Johan
Sell the Airport Express and use a Play Maker?
rednik: Sell the Airport Express and use a Play Maker?
That's a good idea. But what's with under 300GBP for a DAC? You know that DACs can affect the outcome of a sound system greatly right?
Go for a micromega MyDAC if you are really under a budget! There's a lot of buzz surrounding it and it is one of the only few in that price bracket that has volume control. I am looking at it on the website now and I got to say you are going to get a lot for your money with this one and you can probably upgrade the sound in the future with a cheap linear power supply replacement for the wall wart type it comes with.
wonderfulelectric: rednik: Sell the Airport Express and use a Play Maker? That's a good idea. But what's with under 300GBP for a DAC? You know that DACs can affect the outcome of a sound system greatly right? Go for a micromega MyDAC if you are really under a budget! There's a lot of buzz surrounding it and it is one of the only few in that price bracket that has volume control. I am looking at it on the website now and I got to say you are going to get a lot for your money with this one and you can probably upgrade the sound in the future with a cheap linear power supply replacement for the wall wart type it comes with.
Oops my mistake I jumped to fast to conclusion. The power supply is built in so no upgrade path there.
No volume control too. My bad. The knob on the face of the MyDAC is just used to input select but do checkout the online reviews it has! I so wanna get one but really do I need yet another DAC?
Why on earth would you want a volume control on a DAC?
try a arcam rdac or cambridge audio
Johan: Why on earth would you want a volume control on a DAC?
I usually use my Dacs as volume control like a modern preamp.
If your running from a USB port on a computer I would give one of THESE a try. Actually a two way audio interface, made for use in home recording studio environments they are outrageously good value for money as they carry none of the "smoke and mirror# baggage of being a "hifi" component. It is well, well within your budget and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Ban boring signatures!
I use one of these, EMU-0202 and i has an excellent sound quality.
//Bo.A long list...
Puncher: If your running from a USB port on a computer I would give one of THESE a try. Actually a two way audio interface, made for use in home recording studio environments they are outrageously good value for money as they carry none of the "smoke and mirror# baggage of being a "hifi" component. It is well, well within your budget and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Isn't that DAC usb only for digital input? I think James wanted something that works with AE thus airplay which output in optical SPDIF? The micromega claimed less than 50 ps for spdif inputs. I think that might be excellent jitter suppression considering it is factoring the jitter on the input instead of just the clock. I think jitter suppression is required with AE where jitter levels might go as high as 1ns.
E-MU 0202 USB 2.0 features:
Hi, thanks for all the replies, yes it is only to use with AE rather than Airport - have been looking around and the Micomega looks good and there a TEAC £300 that richer sounds have for £150 at the moment - anyway, will wait till the New Year and hopefully get something in the sales.
Thanks again for the replies - definetely worth getting a decent DAC as the Penta's are quite revealing speakers
ajames: Hi, thanks for all the replies, yes it is only to use with AE rather than Airport - have been looking around and the Micomega looks good and there a TEAC £300 that richer sounds have for £150 at the moment - anyway, will wait till the New Year and hopefully get something in the sales. Thanks again for the replies - definetely worth getting a decent DAC as the Penta's are quite revealing speakers
Yes the Teac do look a lot more solidly built than the Mydac. But do give the micromega a chance and tell me what you think! It is made in France so I guess price wise the micromega will be a better deal since the Teac is a import.