DAC for powered speakers

SidBonkers

Active member
Feb 10, 2021
9
3
25
Visit site
Hi, newbie here so go easy.
I own a pair of Aleseis Active Monitors that i used to use in a home studio and it has occurred to me that I could use these to stream music from my PC, Laptop, Phone etc and after a "little" research I am thinking of buying a budget bluetooth DAC namely the Topping DX3 as I understand it will work with active speakers as well as H'phones and I can stream my music via it.

Am I on the right track or is there some other budget friendly way to achieve this goal maybe some other budget DAC and an Ifi Zen Blue perhaps or something else entirely.

I am a poor musician and definitely not an audiophile and with my old shot ears more expensive solutions would probably not be worth it anyway.

Cheers, I hope this is the right place for this Q.
 

Gray

Well-known member
Hi, newbie here so go easy.
I own a pair of Aleseis Active Monitors that i used to use in a home studio and it has occurred to me that I could use these to stream music from my PC, Laptop, Phone etc and after a "little" research I am thinking of buying a budget bluetooth DAC namely the Topping DX3 as I understand it will work with active speakers as well as H'phones and I can stream my music via it.

Am I on the right track or is there some other budget friendly way to achieve this goal maybe some other budget DAC and an Ifi Zen Blue perhaps or something else entirely.

I am a poor musician and definitely not an audiophile and with my old shot ears more expensive solutions would probably not be worth it anyway.

Cheers, I hope this is the right place for this Q.
I don't think you'd go wrong with either of your options.
Got a feeling Zen Blue / good DAC might just win on sound quality, but then you may lose the headphone bonus.
 

ThisIsJimmy

Well-known member
Nov 11, 2020
292
122
2,070
Visit site
Hi Sid

Just a word of warning, if you reside in Britain, if you are looking to purchase Topping products they are normally obtained from Shenzenaudio (China) or Apos Audio (America). Regardles, wherever you look to purchase these, as we don't have a trade deal with America and China, and a deal that can only be described only as a farce with the EU, expect pay alot more in:

- Shipping
- Import Charges (customs Duty)
- Don't forget 20% VAT

This really annoys me as typically the better products right now are coming out of anywhere other than Britain, so be prepared to shop savy.

Jimmy
 

SidBonkers

Active member
Feb 10, 2021
9
3
25
Visit site
Hi Sid

Just a word of warning, if you reside in Britain, if you are looking to purchase Topping products they are normally obtained from Shenzenaudio (China) or Apos Audio (America). Regardles, wherever you look to purchase these, as we don't have a trade deal with America and China, and a deal that can only be described only as a farce with the EU, expect pay alot more in:

- Shipping
- Import Charges (customs Duty)
- Don't forget 20% VAT

This really annoys me as typically the better products right now are coming out of anywhere other than Britain, so be prepared to shop savy.

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy, shipping shouldnt be a problem as I will be buying from UK sellers on Amazon or Ebay, there are cheaper options on ebay but with longer shipping times indicating that they are shipped from China but I dont really want to wait 2 months ;)

TBH I hadnt even thought that Brexit might afect shipping costs and other tax implications, I have bought items from China in the past and rarely paid customs/import duty although its always annoying when I have!!
 

camcroft

Well-known member
Hi. Sid. Without trying to be offensive I would think twice about paying £ 129 for the iFi dac or the likes for a pair of speakers that cost much less than they do. The way I see it is you cant squeeze orange juice from a lemon. There are quite a lot of Bluetooth receivers out there and at the £ 129 price for the iFi you could get a pair of Edifier Bluetooth speakers that can pair to all of your devices and they don't sound bad at all for the money.
 

SidBonkers

Active member
Feb 10, 2021
9
3
25
Visit site
Hi. Sid. Without trying to be offensive I would think twice about paying £ 129 for the iFi dac or the likes for a pair of speakers that cost much less than they do. The way I see it is you cant squeeze orange juice from a lemon. There are quite a lot of Bluetooth receivers out there and at the £ 129 price for the iFi you could get a pair of Edifier Bluetooth speakers that can pair to all of your devices and they don't sound bad at all for the money.


Hi, yes I did look at that option and at the Edifier speakers too and I realise my speakers are at the very budget end as far as monitors are concerned but they are sufficient for my current needs TBH I have a small BT speaker in the lounge and several Alexa's around the house and have got used to listening to DAB radio and would like to access the large flac/mp3 collection I have on PC, I also own a fairly large collection of vinyl that I havent used for 20 odd years but may want to purchase a deck and amp at some point so thought the DAC/BT route would be a starting block for moving forward.
 

ThisIsJimmy

Well-known member
Nov 11, 2020
292
122
2,070
Visit site
Hi Jimmy, shipping shouldnt be a problem as I will be buying from UK sellers on Amazon or Ebay, there are cheaper options on ebay but with longer shipping times indicating that they are shipped from China but I dont really want to wait 2 months ;)

TBH I hadnt even thought that Brexit might afect shipping costs and other tax implications, I have bought items from China in the past and rarely paid customs/import duty although its always annoying when I have!!

I would be checking where how these sellers are getting the equipment. Ensure they already have it and it's not being shipped directly to you from abroad so you don't get smashed with any of the importation and shipping fee costs when the delivery driver is on your door step.

For anywhere we don't have a trade deal with, you can find a more information on custom charges from the WTO (World Trade Oganisation) pages here. The UK tax office has no information that will help you work this out. We will be paying more for shipping from these locations now, and don't forget VAT.

When importing from Europe......it's now nothing short of a complete cluster!

- Shipping has now increased in cost due to the additional red tape documentation, charges, agents, etc, that are now required for goods crossing the border to the EU and vice versa.
- 20% VAT - If the item costs under 150 euros it's charged by the reseller. If it's over you get charged by the driver on delivery.
- Import Charges - Their are custom charges on european goods that still have not yet been clarified on the HMRC website. These vary depending on goods.
-- In addition, if any pieces of an item were manufactured outside the EU, for example, China, you also have to pay the WTO Harmonized charges on the cost of materials. Frankly i have no idea how this is worked out, and nothing is explained clearly on HMRC website either. How European businesses can be expected to also complete this is ludicrous.

It is therefore no wonder that hauliers and ferry terminals with services to the EU have noted trade is down 67% since Brexit and many businesses with europe has suspended trading with the UK, many indefinitely.
 

camcroft

Well-known member
I used to have a pair of these speakers they are right for everything Bluetooth you can connect a turntable to them ( As long as it has got its own phono stage built in ) they are amplified I always said that if I had a flat or the likes they would be the ideal set up. I only sold them on as I bought a bigger set of speakers but I had to buy a Bluetooth receiver for the new ones. Just a suggestion.
£ 79.99 from Amazon what a bargain I had the wood effect ones
 

SidBonkers

Active member
Feb 10, 2021
9
3
25
Visit site
I would be checking where how these sellers are getting the equipment. Ensure they already have it and it's not being shipped directly to you from abroad so you don't get smashed with any of the importation and shipping fee costs when the delivery driver is on your door step.

For anywhere we don't have a trade deal with, you can find a more information on custom charges from the WTO (World Trade Oganisation) pages here. The UK tax office has no information that will help you work this out. We will be paying more for shipping from these locations now, and don't forget VAT.

When importing from Europe......it's now nothing short of a complete cluster!

- Shipping has now increased in cost due to the additional red tape documentation, charges, agents, etc, that are now required for goods crossing the border to the EU and vice versa.
- 20% VAT - If the item costs under 150 euros it's charged by the reseller. If it's over you get charged by the driver on delivery.
- Import Charges - Their are custom charges on european goods that still have not yet been clarified on the HMRC website. These vary depending on goods.
-- In addition, if any pieces of an item were manufactured outside the EU, for example, China, you also have to pay the WTO Harmonized charges on the cost of materials. Frankly i have no idea how this is worked out, and nothing is explained clearly on HMRC website either. How European businesses can be expected to also complete this is ludicrous.

It is therefore no wonder that hauliers and ferry terminals with services to the EU have noted trade is down 67% since Brexit and many businesses with europe has suspended trading with the UK, many indefinitely.


Cheers but I dont have to worry about any of that now as I won one in an auction last night that is brand new never used still has the sticky cover on the front, it was bought by the seller from the Chinese manufacture but was not needed as other equipment bought at the same time has the same function, its the new model, the Topping DX3 v2 and best of all cost me under £150 with delivery, so Im sorted now thanks.

If it all works out Ill be looking for an amp next, probably something minimalist like something from Schiit perhaps Ill read good reviews of them, and then some better speakers and a deck perhaps but Im getting ahead of myself now.

Thanks for all the help, its appreciated.
 

SidBonkers

Active member
Feb 10, 2021
9
3
25
Visit site
I used to have a pair of these speakers they are right for everything Bluetooth you can connect a turntable to them ( As long as it has got its own phono stage built in ) they are amplified I always said that if I had a flat or the likes they would be the ideal set up. I only sold them on as I bought a bigger set of speakers but I had to buy a Bluetooth receiver for the new ones. Just a suggestion.
£ 79.99 from Amazon what a bargain I had the wood effect ones


If youve seen my last reply to ThisIsJimmy your'll see Im all sorted now and TBH those speakers are not as good as the pair I already own they just have BT which mine dont and Im using the DAC as a starting block to build on so if and when I do buy speakers Ill be looking for passive ones with an amp to power them.

Thanks for your suggestion though, I did look at Edifier speakers as another route to go down but ruled it out in favour of the DAC route.
 
  • Like
Reactions: camcroft

SidBonkers

Active member
Feb 10, 2021
9
3
25
Visit site
....ask about the benefits of changing your mains cables or, better still, the fuses in your plugs.
:LOL:


Im actually thinking of rewiring the whole house and also buying some of those little wooden blocks that keep all the cables off the floor to minimise vibration. But Ill probably just get my ears syringed first ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gray

lmlmlm

Well-known member
Jan 9, 2021
37
11
45
Visit site
I use an Ifi Zen Dac wired between laptop and some cheap ok-ish active desktop speakers from Edifier.

The Ifi Zen Dac sounds good and also has a headphone amp & MQA support.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts