DAC - Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 with Marantz PM6004

[admin_exported]

Hi

I have a PC Win 7, and i was wondering which CHEAP dac i can use the get the best sound out of it to the Marantz PM6004 amp that will be driving two Monitor Audio Bronze BX 2.
I don't know if anyone has heard about the Prodigy Cube, because i've thinked about that one.
But if i can go even cheaper. The Behringer UCA202 which is a lot cheaper than the Prodigy Cube. I'm open for other DAC's too, but the DACmagic is too expensive.

What would you recommend?

 

[quadpatch]

Since you say the Cambridge Audio is too expensive what's your realistic budget? £20-100? I've never heard of the Prodigy Cube before but checking that out I see it's an amp as well which means it's another one for my list, if you haven't seen that already you can check it out HERE. The Cube looks interesting actually. I assume you want USB. Are you interested in sample rates higher than CD? I assume you need RCA outs for your amp, most DAC / head amps don't have that until you get up to about £120.

 

[Anonymous]

Yea your right my budget is 20-100. Sample rates higher, really i don't care, i just want better sound from Pc to stereo. I never got to say that i was new to HIFI.

Well yea i want USB, what are the other options? Is RCA the only way to connect the Marantz PM 6004 to a dac?
I don't really know what you mean with that the Cube is an Amp aswell, because i just thought it was a simple dac, obviously i don't really know the different types of DAC's. I don't need a dac to headphones, just a connection between my PC and AMP

Thank for the reply!

 

[quadpatch]

Your other input options for the DAC are optical (S/PDIF) or coax but then your PC would have to be able to output that. RCA (phono) would be your most convenient connection to the amp. You could output from the headphone out of a combined DAC/amp but if you will never use the headphone out then I think it would be wasted money. The Cube looked like it had a headphone amp as well, unless I was looking at the wrong model but I don't think so.

If you want to max out your budget on a pure DAC with pretty good reviews I think the 'Music Fidelity V-Link II' would be a good option. I've not heard it myself but it has asynchronous USB which is a good thing and quite rare on such a cheap unit. On the other end of the scale there is the Fiio D5 (£20) but that does have an amp as well so you would not be paying much for just the DAC section.

 

[Anonymous]

My PC does not have Coax or optical, but i'd like the DAC to have the optical. I think the only way to connect my PC to a dac must be by RCA, or phono right?
Does the V-LINK II have RCA?
Does the Cube have RCA? Cause the cube is cheaper, but when you say that it has an amp aswell, is it then not useful for what i'm gonna use it to?

RCA is the same as jack right? (just to be sure)

 

[quadpatch]

Since you don't have a Optical (S/PDIF) or coax output on your PC the only way to connect it to a DAC is via USB. RCA/phono is no good as it has to be a digital connection. USB DACs are getting much more common now. Some people would say that USB is a slightly inferior method compared to the other digitals on the cheaper DACs but I have not experienced any issues with USB. Very easy to set up too.

RCA actually stands for 'Radio Corporation of America' which sounds very misleading which is why I also mentioned that they are called 'phono'. It's the 2 connectors (often red/white for right/left channels) that you mostly see on the back of amps and CD players - are analogue only and in your case sound.

The Prodigy Cube does have phono (RCA) connectors. If you are never going to want to connect a pair of headphones directly to the DAC then you don't need it to have an amp as well. You can still connect headphones to your Marantz. The advantage of having the amp inside the DAC is: Makes it portable and great for laptop use with headphones (thats why I love them), or it just doesn't need a separate amp, or it can act as a pre-amp and power active speakers.

The V-Link II also has phono (RCA). It does have optical (and coax too) but they are both outputs (for turning the USB into an alternative digital output) and NOT inputs. The Prodigy Cube is the same, the only input is the USB. On the up side they can passthrough digital surround (to optical/coax) but will not input that to the DAC.

There is a cheap DAC (& amp) by Lindy (£50) which has USB and Optical inputs:

http://www.lindy.co.uk/usb-digital-to-analogue-audio-converter-headphone-amp/20376.html

 

[Anonymous]

Oh god i want to thank you for all this information, it is very kind of you

is the LINDY something you would recommend, because i think the V-link is a bit expensive.

 

[professorhat]

There's a few WHF reviews of DACs in your price range:

Lindy DAC

CYP AU-D3 DAC

CYP AU-D150 DAC

EDIT - just realised you need USB, so ignore the top two!

 

[quadpatch]

Oh god i want to thank you for all this information, it is very kind of you

is the LINDY something you would recommend, because i think the V-link is a bit expensive.

You're most welcome Chosee .

I have never heard the Lindy but I did find a review of it here so see what you think after reading this.

http://www.techmadeeasy.co.uk/2011/12/06/review-lindy-usb-digital-to-analog-converter/

If it was me I would probably save for the V-Link because I think it's in a different league. My rough guess would be that it would be better value but it is twice as much and doesn't have an optical input so is a hard sell I know. I did find a ton of DACs on eBay that sound interesting, one for £70 had the same DAC chip as my £330 Yulong D100 but a quick google search found someone saying it was rubbish so it's risky but it could be fantastic value.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the Lindy is good enough for me, and i think i'm gonna go with that.

Thanks for the help! Especially you Quadpatch!