Wanted: DAC / preamp / headphone amp

[surayne]

Looking for the above for a PC-based system. Must have USB input supporting 24/96 at least. Balanced preamp outputs preferred as I'll be using this with a pair of active monitors.

Budget up to about £300.

[surayne]

Bump.

[Dawg]

I can recommend one of these, many said it was a bargain when it came out and that was at about £800. You won't beat the features and build quality for the price, just have to match headphones if your going to use that option. My friend swears by his and says he will never sell it, I believe him because he is selling everything else! https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEAC-UD-501-dual-mono-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier/183134032502?hash=item2aa3a39276:g:ws4AAOSwM~taZNy j

[surayne]

I can recommend one of these, many said it was a bargain when it came out and that was at about £800. You won't beat the features and build quality for the price, just have to match headphones if your going to use that option. My friend swears by his and says he will never sell it, I believe him because he is selling everything else! https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEAC-UD-501-dual-mono-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier/183134032502?hash=item2aa3a39276:g:ws4AAOSwM~taZNy j

Thanks. Unfortunately it doesn't allow volume control over the XLR or RCA outputs, so it isn't an option in my system.

[jandl100]

If you can do without XLR output, these are unbeatable in terms of sq imho.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XiangSheng-DAC-01A-DAC-Tube-USB-Decoders-Headphone-PreAmplifier-24Bit-192Khz-EU/262993229776?hash=item3d3b9e37d0:g:mS8AAOSwHBVZz0i u

Internal push-fit jumpers allow volume control of headphone and pre-amp output.
Check out the user review on that link. ;)

See Justin User211's thoughts on it here - http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?1236-New-speakers-and-amps&p=955264#post955264

[User211]

Not tried the headphone output on it though. No idea how good it is with difficult loads etc...

[jandl100]

I use my DAC-01A with Fostex TH600 headphones and they sound great - clear, dynamic and very spacious.
I think the Fostex are a fairly easy load, though.

[surayne]

Thanks, that looks interesting. I'm hoping to experiment with a few headphones (possibly including some orthodynamic ones) over the coming year, and am hoping not to have to change the amp to suit them. I had agreed to buy a Benchmark DAC1 which ticks all the boxes and is meant to be an excellent headphone amp, but unfortunately the seller pulled out.

[mr sneff]

These (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matrix-Mini-i-Pro-2-DSD-DXD-DAC-Headphone-AMP-32Bit-384kHz-110V-to-250V/122992620367?hash=item1ca2ee734f:g:yqEAAOSw65FXsW1 2) are pretty good and have all the features you require. I have the previous model, without the bluetooth. They do come up on eBay from time to time, and there's one available here (https://www.hifi-forsale.co.uk/moreinfo7.php?prod_title=Matrix_Mini-I_Pro_2&p=&prod_id=46764&q=matrix&offset=)