DAC & amp for new Q Acoustics 3010?

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001938819909]

Hi,

My Audioengine A2+ has gone faulty and I am planning on buying a Q Acoustics 3010 as replacement.

I have no dac/amp at the moment so I figure I would need to buy them as well.

I have looked into the Audioengine B1, because I like its connectivity. But I'm not sure if it contains an amp as well? or is it just a dac and I need to buy an amp separately?

I have also looked into the SMSL SA60, but it seems like it's just an amp without a dac.

I would really appreciate a small all-in-one DAC & Amp, if that's possible?

budget < £200.

Any suggestion? All advice are much appreciated.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001938819909]

Dennon DA-300usb, Musical Fidelity V90-AMP, Audioengine D1 or B1....?

any ideas?

 

[bluedroog]

I don't know all the gear you mention but googled the first one and it appears to be a DAC with headphone amp so will not be able to drive speakers.

I'd suggest you either get an amp which takes digital inputs such as some of the the Harman Kardon amps, just get the best regular stereo amp you can afford and a really cheap DAC from the likes of Fiio or alternativley if you don't mind buying used have a look at an AV amp.

I wouldn't normally suggest an AV amp if buying new but since you have a limited budget and need for a DAC it could prove a very good value for money purchase. Becuase AV amps have lots of features which date fast (all the bells and whistles) they don't hold their value well and you could get a used amp for a fraction of what it cost new.

For example I recnelty sold a mint Denon AVR 3805 amp for around £170 and it was around £1,000 when new. It has a competent induilt DAC, 120 watts per channel and crucially has a 'pure direct' two channel music mode which will bypass all the uneccisary settings.

 

[davedotco]

If you can, bite the bullet, sell the family silver, whatever it takes and get a PM6005. Yes I know it is full size and it might not be the best amp ever made, but at it's current price of £279 it is pretty much a 'no brainer'.

If that really is too big then it gets difficult, there are plenty of dac/t-amps on the web but good as they are in their way, they really do not match up to the full size Marantz.

One other thought, why not get some proper active monitors, something way better than your old Audioengines.

Check out Monket Banana Turbo 5s with built in dac around £350 or the Yamaha HS5 without dac for about £100 less. Sound quality of either will be better than the passive options though connectivity might be an issue.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001938819909]

thanks Bluedroog, will check out the AV amps that you mentioned.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001938819909]

Hi Dave, thanks for the reply.

How does PM6005 hold up against the Musical Fidelity V90-AMP? I am pretty much choosing between these two. They are both good dac&amps but PM6005 doesn't have an USB input so I'm not sure how convenient it is to connect it to my computer.

For the active monitors you mentioned, is the Yamaha HS5 much better than the Q Acoustics 3010/ 3020 I'm about to buy? I am not quite familiar with the differences between Passive & Active speakers. (Newbie here hehehe...)

 

[davedotco]

I answered this earlier today but it appears my post never quite made it to the thread.

My thoughts were simply that the difference between the Marantz and the MF will be the way the music is presented through your chosen speakers. Apart from facilities and functionality, I doubt there will be little to choose quality wise but one will probably sound more suited to your requirements than the other.

This is why it is best to listen to the combos for yourself, not always easy though. Other opinions will be just that, other peoples views, but it is yours that matters.

The lack of a proper USB Type B input on the Marantz might be an issue though, depends on the soundcard on your PC. That said, very good usb dacs can be had quite cheaply these days so any good budget amplifier such as the Denon PMA720 at £150 can be used.

I mentioned using active speakers and my choice at this sort of price would be a setup as follows. I would use the Audioengine D1 as a usb dac/preamp and use it to drive either Yamaha HS5s or Presonus Eris 5s, with a slight preference towards the latter.