WANTED please: DAC for under £50!?

[lafty]

I know, probably an impossible ask but you never know....

Cheers

Nick

[struth]

Might struggle to get a good one Nick at that price but you never know till you ask mate... Will be selling one myself soon but will be a bit more than that. good luck

[lafty]

Yeah- I'm a bit of a beginner at the moment and just want to see if it will make a difference to my AirPlay streaming.

Cheers

[struth]

You maybe need to specify the inputs you will need as well...if its a usb in and analogue out then you will have a chance... the sabre dac is small but good and is about that price. in usb out either mini spidif or 3.5mm analogue. got one myself and they are good

[hughandella]

Might struggle to get a good one Nick at that price but you never know till you ask mate... Will be selling one myself soon but will be a bit more than that. good luck

If you only need USB or have a SPDIF to USB convertor I have a audioquest dragonfly version 1 you can have for £50 delivered --- it works well

[jasonC]

before i bought my firestone dac which is not really that costy i used a muse dac and a fiio dac, both under £50
i'm not saying any of these are high end in sound but i found them to pleasing to my ears.
the fiio one was for me a great dac in sound and build,the best of the lot.
fiio d3 linky with free amazon saver delivery
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-192KHz-Digital-Analog-Converter/dp/B005PWPUW6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434318310&sr=8-2&keywords=fiio+dac
and muse
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PCM2704-Digital-Decoder-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00BMJG6EC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1434318329&sr=8-4&keywords=muse+dac

this dac i used but did not like it as much as not as solid built as fiio and i would get clipping sometimes
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet%C2%AE-DAC-Digital-Analogue-Converter/dp/B0038M3ID8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1434318259&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=budget+dac


if you want to try really cheap this one is £9
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Proster-Digital-Toslink-Analogue-Converter/dp/B00KNNSKV0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434318259&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=budget+dac

this one is abit better built higher in cost.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-192KHz-Bit-Audio-Combo/dp/B00JVQWAIY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PM0SA1QQDEG7PE62XG6

your other option is to look on ebay although i found before not many decent dacs sell for under £50
if your budget will allow in a month or two look for a firestone audio dac which is what i have.
though for the price you could maybe get a better second hand dac on here
great build and sound and 210euros new
http://www.firestone-audio.eu/shop/products/allproductslisted/spitfirehd.php

i bought my firestone mono blocks and pre amp from them for 350euros, best sounding amp i have heard.
great service.

richersounds sells a selection of budget dacs.
pro-ject does a budget dac.
and cambridge audio does a dac for the same price as firestone.

[hughandella]

If you only need USB or have a SPDIF to USB convertor I have a audioquest dragonfly version 1 you can have for £50 delivered --- it works well

I actually also have a SMSL Chinese number --- it is really rather good _ I used while my main one was being repaired ----- surprising performance for no money £45 delivered and it takes all inputs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SMSL-Sanskrit-24bit-192kHz-Hifi-Digital-USB-Coaxial-Optical-DAC-Decoder-SD1955-/171542198758?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27f0b639e6

[jasonC]

i have that very same dac as you, it's great isnt it.
amazing what you can get sound wise these days for not much money


I actually also have a SMSL Chinese number --- it is really rather good _ I used while my main one was being repaired ----- surprising performance for no money £45 delivered and it takes all inputs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SMSL-Sanskrit-24bit-192kHz-Hifi-Digital-USB-Coaxial-Optical-DAC-Decoder-SD1955-/171542198758?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27f0b639e6

[struth]

http://hifimediy.com/sabre-dac-uae23

this is the one I have

[Barry]

How about the FiiO D3?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-192KHz-Digital-Analog-Converter-Black/dp/B005PWPUW6

Not the best in the word, but what can you expect for £30?



However if it were me, I'd go for the FiiO D7

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-D07-Digital-Analog-Decoder/dp/B00EO0Q5PG/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1434321109&sr=8-13&keywords=fiio+dac

At £40, it's still within your budget.

[hughandella]

i have that very same dac as you, it's great isnt it.
amazing what you can get sound wise these days for not much money

yep its great --- I think their amps are very underrated T amps too =------ IMHO they are one of the better low budget Chinese -- Consonance are the best higher end and these are the ow end equivalent as far as Im concerned --- but there's lots out there so dont claim to know them all -- but i've not had a bad product from either yet -- tbh I'm only offering this DAC as it fit the bill --- I m not actively looking to sell it, at this price it is great to have around ---- cheers anyway

[daws0n]

I have a maplins DAC I am not using anymore - USB/to slink/spdif connectivity +RCA and headphone output. Let me know if you're interested?

[lafty]

Wow, great overnight response thanks everyone. Will look at all these options. I need SPDIF input.

Cheers

Nick

[Saber]

I have one off the little £12 eSYNIC ones so i could run the sound from my tv in to my old sony str de245 which has no digital input.
Works fine for that, slightly quiet output, but its been perfectly reliable for 12 months.

Has anyone used the muse Z5?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SMO-Converter-PCM2704-Optical-Coaxial/dp/B00OZI0Z5I/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1434356324&sr=8-8&keywords=muse+audio

I could do with a usb Dac especially with headphone out.

[jasonC]

i have had one of their class d amps too,as you say underrated t-amps though indeed audio are also a very good budget chinese amp maker


yep its great --- I think their amps are very underrated T amps too =------ IMHO they are one of the better low budget Chinese -- Consonance are the best higher end and these are the ow end equivalent as far as Im concerned --- but there's lots out there so dont claim to know them all -- but i've not had a bad product from either yet -- tbh I'm only offering this DAC as it fit the bill --- I m not actively looking to sell it, at this price it is great to have around ---- cheers anyway

[jasonC]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SMO-Converter-PCM2704-Optical-Coaxial/dp/B00OZI0Z5I/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1434356324&sr=8-8&keywords=muse+audio

I could do with a usb Dac especially with headphone out.[/QUOTE]

like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-Portable-Headphone-DAC-Amplifier/dp/B003N0XDT4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1434360782&sr=8-5&keywords=usb+headphone+amp

or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Topping-Subwoofer-Amplifier-Digital-Headphone/dp/B00J9BG5HS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1434360782&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+headphone+amp

[jasonC]

Wow, great overnight response thanks everyone. Will look at all these options. I need SPDIF input.

Cheers

Nick

muse and fiio have that though i have not come across any dac that does not have SPDIF unless it was a usb or hewadphone dac as i have noticed alot of computer based dac's only offer usb input.

[Saber]

You have just made me realize I really want/need 2. The Fiio for portable and the muse for home.... have just run the optical out on the denonCd player into my cheep dac... sounds more detailed than from the denon its self, makes me wonder how cheep the Dac in the Denon is.

Wait. no I want /need 3 Dacs I want one for my gaming pc too... may have to sell some stuff on ebay :)