What is better between rDAC and V-DAC mkII ?

[admin_exported]

What is better between these 2 models? I'm searching for DAC to use mainly with my MacBook Air (and supposedly my iPad if I get rDAC wifi model). I listen to lots of classical musics. I'm using Stax SRM-007tA(an electrostatic tube headphone amplifier) and headphones.

These 2 models suit my budget and are available here in Thailand. If there is any other model in this price range, feel free to tell me.

Thank you.

 

[paradiziac]

If there is any other model in this price range, feel free to tell me. Thank you.

Audio-gd NFB-3 or NFB-2. Just look on their website and see what's in the case, no marketing blah-blah hiding sub-standard components.

Not too many mag reviews, tho' :shame:

If there's no Thai importer, just email them directly.

I just replaced my V-DAC with the NFB-2 and the quality is amazing for the price

 

[Anonymous]

There is an importer here.
But I would like to know whether the 2 British models are inferior to the audio-gd?

 

[paradiziac]

I would guess that the Audio-gd offers better sound at the same price point, but each has its own advantage:

Audio-gd: cleaner (built-in) power supply (v. important), better DAC chip/output stage

rDAC/V-DAC II: better USB implementation, more portable, brand "name"

I didn't compare all these 3 directly, and I do prefer to buy British...

But...those "British" brands are made in China from Chinese components, but the Chinese brand uses top quality British components...

:?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Mate, either the V-DAC or the rDac will be fine. They come from well established companies offering good levels of support. The V-DAC is made in Taiwan, by the way, not China, but they're both designed in the UK.

I saw these new DACs that appear coming from companies I've never heard of in China, and particularly Hong Kong, they're all over the internet. Some may be good, some may not be, but, since they're never tested or reviewed and only sell on internet word of mouth, which is highly unreliable, it's difficult to suss out whether these products are really any good - or will be supported if anything goes wrong. Also, the ones mentioned by a previous poster don't seem that cheap, if you include customs and shipping charges.

Apart from the fact the Musical Fidelity and Arcam come from well-established firms, they'll also fetch more when you come to sell them on.

All of which shows there's no such thing as a bargain in HiFi.

 

[paradiziac]

All of which shows there's no such thing as a bargain in HiFi.

Totally agree, you don't get 'owt for nowt! You pays your money and takes your choice. Horses for courses!!!

I've still got my MF V-series and it's not bad at all. Perhaps the new one is a bit better, but the fact that they advertise a better looking case as the first selling point didn't tickle my fancy. In any case, the connections on the boxes mean that if you have a chain of 2 or 3 or these, you still end up having to hide them behind your rack!

I'm about to find out the truth about the resale value of MF

I would agree about some of the Chinese gear on the internet. It's not so cheap after customs and some of the stuff is a rip-off, fake chips even or valves that are just for show. But since Audio-gd are reputable and do actually have a UK distributor that offer 28 days sale or return, I thought I'd get one in to see. And surprise, surprise, it fixes what I perceived was the weakness with the older V-series.

I actually lucked out on the NFB-2, I ordered the NFB-3.1 but they'd just sold the last one a few minutes before I ordered. I was offered the better model at a bargain price, cheaper than getting it from China in fact, and it arrived the next day! That's great customer service in my opinion.

In contrast to this experience, I went to a UK hi-fi dealer for some speakers that were on ex-demo. I was pretty keen on them, but since they were still quite expensive and I would still lose money on a resale, I wanted a home demo. No go (I admit there are many good dealers in the UK and this is an isolated case). So I decided to upgrade the DAC first.

With a brand like Audio-gd, there's no dealer network/middlemen in the UK. They don't advertise. So those are real cost savings that can go straight into the components--it's not something for nothing.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for your comments. Quite interesting for the audio-gd. There is an importer here.
Anyway, may I get back to the question? Is there anyone who tested both of the models?
I'd like to hear some comparison between rDAC and V-DAC mkII.
Thank you

 

[Anonymous]

did you see Audio-gd now have the NFB 3.2?

Their web says the following ("to be confirmed" looks strange...):

TE8802 Figure:
USB2.0 Audio Class V2.0 and V1.0
USB Audio Class2 High-speed Input from PC/MAC (Windows XP, Win7 32bit /64bit, MAC OS )
Supports full speed Asynchronous Transfer Mode (to be confirmed, we suspect with drivers)
Resolutions support 16 / 24-Bit with sampling rate support 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz