Topic: best recomendation for an affordable DAC?

[Jimna]

my wife is asking christmas questions.....

[Jimna]

or even all in one dac>amp options.  im looking to get a 24bit play back going here...


god save santa clause.

[RebelRebel]

MYTEK! A real giant killer. I auditioned quite a few before going with the Stereo 96. Mr. Skalinder, Matt D, and quite a few others have discovered how good they are.
I shot ya apm..

[Jimna]

ok, long live the tax return!

[Nick's Picks]

thats a GREAT dac..., from what people say.  I'm going to try one out myself.
but..

for much less money, find a used Music Hall MAMBO integrated amp.
two digital inputs, 24/96 burr-brown DACs.  50wpc of class A SS power, and its meaty.

while I just looked, I found a Maven, which is the "big brother" version of the same amp.
and, its STUPID CHEAP !!!
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1196958746
i'd buy this and then say "look what you got me for xmas" !!!
then have her buy you a $20 chainteck sound card so you can stream from your PC at 24bit
or, a SqueezeBox.

[JackoRoses]

benchmark dac1 for around 800 used give or take.

[muj]

promitheus dac?

[Sanjay]

thats a GREAT dac..., from what people say.  I'm going to try one out myself.
but..

for much less money, find a used Music Hall MAMBO integrated amp.
two digital inputs, 24/96 burr-brown DACs.  50wpc of class A SS power, and its meaty.

while I just looked, I found a Maven, which is the "big brother" version of the same amp.
and, its STUPID CHEAP !!!
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1196958746
i'd buy this and then say "look what you got me for xmas" !!!
then have her buy you a $20 chainteck sound card so you can stream from your PC at 24bit
or, a SqueezeBox.

that is stupid cheap... if i listened to the radio i'd replace the mambo with that.

[scb]

is the mytek still only balanced out?

[Nick's Picks]

it doesn't
it operates in class A for a while, then AB from there.
i'm sure it still doesnt' suck.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Squeezebox3 > direct your amp

No pre-amp needed. DAC is optional. The SB3 sounds very good direct.

Very affordable, ultra-convenient access to your collection that will probably change how you listen.

[Nick's Picks]

Squeezebox3 > direct your amp

No pre-amp needed. DAC is optional. The SB3 sounds very good direct.

Very affordable, ultra-convenient access to your collection that will probably change how you listen.

I'll 2nd that

[Sanjay]

it doesn't
it operates in class A for a while, then AB from there.
i'm sure it still doesnt' suck.

I have no idea what that means, but thanks!  I wasn't planning on switching.  I need more stuff like I need a hole in my head.   

[RebelRebel]

is the mytek still only balanced out?

Nossir, either or. Just when going into an unbalanced component, pin 3 needs to be floating. I go unbalanced . I just finished a document on calibrating the unit with various amplifiers, and will be glad to help those with questions. Ive become really familiar with the unit over the past year, having had many conversations with Marcin about Operating details, various components used in the manufacturing, layout, etc..


I love Superlock Mode( everything is Upsampled to 24/192.) It has such an Open, Rich, Euphonic inviting sound.., very different from other DACs ive heard..Doesnt sound "digital" at all.

FYI, Chesky Records uses Mytek ADCs and DACs in their productions...

Samples of the Mytek can be found here

[BC]

another option, the Musical Fidelity DAC1:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1199144699

very nice measurements for this little guy, looks well engineered

http://stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1204mf/index2.html

[Nick's Picks]

and thats a great price.

[bgalizio]

I don't have any experience with it, but the Lucid DA9624 is a pretty inexpensive DAC:
http://www.lucidaudio.com/index.php?Show=216&Show1=&Show2=223

Personally, I think a Squeezebox 3 would be a great choice. It has a very nice DAC, in addition to streaming music.

[Nick's Picks]

i've heard the lucid.  its been around for 10 years probably.  its decent...., good features.
I'd rather have a squeezebox.

[Brian Skalinder]

This thread reminded me I still have my Bel Canto DAC 1.1 for sale:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,85170.0.html

I'd still use it, sounds great, but I got a such a great deal on the Mytek I just couldn't resist. 

[jerryfreak]

if youre looking for affordable (<$400), I've got an maudio superdac and a lucid da9624 I'll be listing soon

otherwise the benchmark/mytek are great and can be had for $600-$800

[Gutbucket]

...Samples of the Mytek can be found here

Just listened to all the comps above a few nights ago.  Quite impressive. Contrary to the effort I thought I'd have to make, the differences were not subtle.  Of course, hosted by Mytec, I'd expect their converters to come out tops in the comps. But marketing biases aside, my ears liked what they heard.  [..filing mental info away for next year...]

[Jimna]

thats what i got too.  i think im gonna hold out and get the mytec.  its seems worth waiting for...

[Mr.Fantasy]

Are you guys talking about the Stereo 96 model? Like THIS

[audBall]

Are you guys talking about the Stereo 96 model? Like THIS

This one:  http://www.mytekdigital.com/products/stereo96dac.htm

You linked the AD C 

the Mytek rocks, btw.

[Nick's Picks]

I just found a place that has a few used Apogee mini-DACs.  USB version.
$650

[RebelRebel]

I just found a place that has a few used Apogee mini-DACs.  USB version.
$650

well...word on the street is that the Mytek is pretty darn affordable too.   

[noahbickart]

got a link for or a line on a cheap mytek?

-Noah

[Jimna]

hope your feeling better, teddy.

[carlbeck]

Anyone else notice the DSD page on the Mytek website? Interesting to hear their thoughts on it as well.

[Nick's Picks]

where the Mytek fails me is the lack of selectable digital inputs.  that is why I 86'd the Grace ...which was the best front end i've had to date.  I need separate and selectable Toslink / Coax / AES inputs.  especially the varied s/dif inputs.  thats how I need to roll...dig ?

I hope that fuckn' Apogee blows my mind.

[audBall]

Mine has all that with an extra coax.  I believe there was a revision to the original unit.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Anyone else notice the DSD page on the Mytek website? Interesting to hear their thoughts on it as well.

It has been there for a couple years. DSD is going nowhere fast.

[jerryfreak]

i have a mytek stereo 96 i might part with if somebody wants it.

[MattD]

where the Mytek fails me is the lack of selectable digital inputs.  that is why I 86'd the Grace ...which was the best front end i've had to date.  I need separate and selectable Toslink / Coax / AES inputs.  especially the varied s/dif inputs.  thats how I need to roll...dig ?

I hope that fuckn' Apogee blows my mind.

Um, the mytek sitting on my rack has 4 digital inputs: 2 coax, 1 AES, 1 optical SPDIF.

[Nick's Picks]

the specs I read didn't seem to show that many...
ah well.  I still need to hear one.

[Gutbucket]

Cool logo Nick.

[Brian]

any DAC with 2 optical inputs?

anybody use optical to coax converter boxes in their setup?

if so, recommendations?

edit: or a 2 or 3 opti in / 1 opti out switching box?

[som]

Might be another interesting and affordable option:

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=47989.0

[Tim]

any DAC with 2 optical inputs?

anybody use optical to coax converter boxes in their setup?

if so, recommendations?

edit: or a 2 or 3 opti in / 1 opti out switching box?

I've never heard an optical cable that I thought sounded good in my system.

[Brian]

any DAC with 2 optical inputs?

anybody use optical to coax converter boxes in their setup?

if so, recommendations?

edit: or a 2 or 3 opti in / 1 opti out switching box?

I've never heard an optical cable that I thought sounded good in my system.

how so? it's a digital cable.  too much jitter? i wasn't planning on going with a cheapo cable so i'm curious if anybody else shares your thoughts.

i'm trying to avoid an AVR and my new tv's digital audio out is optical

[Brian Skalinder]

anybody use optical to coax converter boxes in their setup?

I used the Hosa ODL-312 for recording and converting AES > S/PDIF optical.  Hosa also makes the ODL-276A for S/PDIF coax <--> S/PDIF optical.  Uses a 9v DC wallwart.  If you're running 24-bit, get the -276A, I believe the -276 isn't rated for 24-bit.

[Brian]

anybody use optical to coax converter boxes in their setup?

I used the Hosa ODL-312 for recording and converting AES > S/PDIF optical.  Hosa also makes the ODL-276A for S/PDIF coax <--> S/PDIF optical.  Uses a 9v DC wallwart.  If you're running 24-bit, get the -276A, I believe the -276 isn't rated for 24-bit.

i saw that 276a and that is the model rated for 24/96.  that looks like what i need unless i decide to go with a passive optical switcher.  the hosa definitely seems like a higher quality device and i know it has a good rep here for tapers who used it with their rigs before optical connections were more utilized by various converters

[Tim]

how so? it's a digital cable.  too much jitter? i wasn't planning on going with a cheapo cable so i'm curious if anybody else shares your thoughts.

perhaps it was jitter but the Bel Canto's are well known for their low jitter.

I've used a few types of cables, ranging from around $20 to close to $100

[Brian]

can you explain the differences you heard?

clarity or lack thereof?

frequency response?  (lows/mids/highs)

what cables did you try??

[Tim]

lack of clarity, smearing in the high end. It wasn't subtle either

I don't recall the cable brands at this point, sorry I suck   they were purchased from a local hi-fi shop

I haven't run an optical cable in over a year because of this. I don't think I'm the only person to hear issues with optical cables - I know digital is supposed to be digital but....

[Brian]

I don't think I'm the only person to hear issues with optical cables.

you're not.  others have made the same comment about "smeared highs" due to jitter.  from what i've read, it sounds like cable length (read: shorter the better) and how it's run make a difference when running optical cables.

sorry about this hijack. researching dac's brought me to this.

[noahbickart]

It is hard for me not to be be a sceptic when I read claims about hearing the differences between digital cables, especially when used with modern DACs which reclock the signal anyway. It's not that hard to test the bit accuracy of a cable. take a .wav file, make a md5 file for it, send that file to your DAT deck or CF recorder, transfer it back to the PC and see if the MD5 checks out. Bits is bits...

Optical cables are also much more immune to RF...

-Noah

[Tim]

I don't think I'm the only person to hear issues with optical cables.

you're not.  others have made the same comment about "smeared highs" due to jitter.  from what i've read, it sounds like cable length (read: shorter the better) and how it's run make a difference when running optical cables.

sorry about this hijack. researching dac's brought me to this.

thanks Brian

I was trying to find some other postings on this and was coming up blank

good luck in your search

[it-goes-to-eleven]

It's not that hard to test the bit accuracy of a cable. take a .wav file, make a md5 file for it, send that file to your DAT deck or CF recorder, transfer it back to the PC and see if the MD5 checks out. Bits is bits...

That will not measure jitter.

[J.T.L]

Does a glass based cable vs a plastic based one help with jitter?

[Nick's Picks]

it might..., but I dont know.
I use a glass one as i'm running the max that i'm comfortable with toslink (around 12').  And I keep it in a straight line as much as possible.

still, its jittery compared to the Oppo output over an apogee wide-eye s/pdif cable.

[Brian]

Does a glass based cable vs a plastic based one help with jitter?

it's what "they" say, but the glass cables are more delicate (obviously) and if they break, you're effed

[Brian]

also, i'm not as worried about optical jitter when it comes to enjoyment of tv/dvd's/non-critical listening.

there will be no optical lines when it comes to mixing audio from my computer(or any audio coming from my computer for that matter)

[mandoman]

How about the Grace m902?
http://www.gracedesign.com/products/m902/m902frame.htm

Not necessarily affordable at $1600 street. Anyone heard one?
Anyone got a line on a better price?

I am starting to think about a DAC too. Would like something with analog
input support as well.

[Tim]

I am starting to think about a DAC too. Would like something with analog
input support as well.

to use as a preamp or a headphone amp?

[mandoman]

I'd use it both as a headphone amp and to drive
my nearfield active monitors.

Right now I monitor off a mackie 400f. It's DA is just ok, a tad
bright and it only accepts one digital input and I need at least two.
And for analog inputs, it does a AD>DA, which I'd rather skip.

[Tim]

gotcha - just trying to see what your needs are

have you looked at the grace 901? Looking at audiogon and ebay right now nothing is coming up but it would be more affordable that the 902. I believe Simp-Dawg has one

http://www.audaud.com/audaud/MAY03/EQUIP/equip2MAY03.html

[mandoman]

I did look at the 901, but it doesn't have outputs that can drive monitors
(only headphone out) and the switch to select the digital input source is
on the back. Thanks for the suggestion though.