Dacs

[ledzep]

Hi all,what dacs do people recommend for not alot of money?

[Alex_UK]

Hi Dan - how much is "not a lot" - and what connections do you need? New, Second-hand or either?

[ledzep]

Oh yes,about £200 second hand or new and normal rca connections

[Alex_UK]

Oh yes,about £200 second hand or new and normal rca connections

Cool - I meant connections incoming - i.e. are you hooking up to a CD Transport, PC, etc - do you need USB input, for instance, or just SPDIF?

[Ali Tait]

This takes a lot of beating IMHO -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Finished-2496-AK4396-CS8416-DAC-R-core-Transformer-case-115V-230V-/110747160549?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Amplifiers&hash=item19c90b8fe5

A very good chip that is used in some pricey gear, including the Logitech Transporter.

Cheap to upgrade too. Start with the opamp which is easily changed as it's socketed.

Big thread here -

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/186245-dac-2496-ak4393-dac-kit-cs8416-ak4393-5532-a.html

This is the board used in the DAC Nick built for me. See the thread here -

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13204

[ledzep]

Sorry Alex, For cd transport only

[ledzep]

Thats a rather nice dac nick built for you Ali

[Alex_UK]

That's fine Dan - just wanted to nail the requirements - if you were using it exclusively for File Based Audio from a PC then the answer would probably be different! ;)

Loads of Beresford Caiman fans on here - myself included - you should be able to get one at your budget second-hand with the Gator upgrade, so I would definitely consider that as a short-list candidate.

[StanleyB]

The standard Caiman Christmas price is only £191.99 delivered to any EU member state, and a bit less than that to the rest of the word. That's inside your budget of £200 ;).

[Ali Tait]

Thats a rather nice dac nick built for you Ali

It is indeed, though it is a prototype, and hopefully is going to turn into something rather more serious if Nick can find the time.

I'd still recommend the finished DAC I linked to on the bay, I bought one myself to use on the end of my Sky+ box. The transformer is actually 230v, not 220, so should be fine. The only problem was no earth from the IEC socket to the chassis internally, but that's a simple fix. Sound wise it's very good even in stock form, and gets surprisingly close to the valve output jobbie.

[jon1]

Hi all,what dacs do people recommend for not alot of money?





Dan if you can get one of these cheap..go for it http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/index.php/audio-reviews/digital-source-reviews/item/175-eastern-electric-minimax-tube-dac



jon

[ledzep]

That looks a nice bit of kit jon

[Mark Grant]

Might be worth waiting for the Beresford Bushmaster, cant be far off now :)

A thread about it here:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14017&highlight=bushmaster
-

[ledzep]

Ooh that looks like it could be interesting Mark.

[StanleyB]

Might be worth waiting for the Beresford Bushmaster, cant be far off now :)

It is running a bit behind schedule I am afraid.