Which Dac for £200?

[krish123]

hi guys im on the search of a the best quality dac i can get for 200 quid. my plan is to connect it up to an airport express and then play through my amp(musical fidelity a3) and speakers (mordaunt short aviano 6). I dont mind buying second hand if need be, i just want the best sound quality i can get. in terms of sound i want a dac that errs on the side of warmth but i want a big soundstage with a nice air about it ie not directly coming from the speakers.

Any recommendations?

 

[BigH]

I think this will take some beating: http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/dacs/e-dac-24bit-miniature-usb-dac/

At only £100. For about £200 you could get a Beresford.

 

[ID.]

I think this will take some beating: http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/dacs/e-dac-24bit-miniature-usb-dac/

At only £100. For about £200 you could get a Beresford.

Only problem with th e-dac is that it is USB only, and AFAIK you need a DAC that can take optical from the AEX.

 

[krish123]

yh thats right id i dont need usb at all in fact. i will need optical and dont even think aex has coaxial does it ? otherwise i did hear that the epiphany dac was decent.

 

[krish123]

Ok I'll take a look into that any other reccomendations ?

 

[slice]

I have recently owned a Beresford Busmaster Mk1 Dac which had 2xopt and 2Xcoax. The sound was excellent but I had trouble with the selector/toggle button, which malfunctioned once under warranty, and then a second time just recently- this time I haven't bothered repairing it, I was maybe finding it a bit of a faff changing source anway via the toggle. As I say, it did sound good and had the musical character you seem to favour. Now Mk1 has finished, and last I heard you need to register on a mailing list for Mk2, which is meant to be improved.

 

[EvPa]

If you only need something with an optical-in and RCA-out, no preamp, volume control or whatever else, have a look at the FiiO Taishan-D03K (also known as FiiO D3), it is a VERY good product and will cost you something like £30 (so you won't loose much if you end up not liking it and can probably sell it quite easily).

 

[ifor]

Second hand Arcam rDAC. I've used mine with AEX and ATV.

 

[matt49]

Musical Fidelity V-90 DAC

£199

Just a thought ...

 

[krish123]

thanks for the replies guys. is the bushmaster mk2 out already ? if not when is it due out? what system did you pair the mk1 version with?

What results did you get with the arcam dac m8? was it an improvement over the aex?

yes i have thought seriously about the v90 dac anyone heard this dac?

 

[matt49]

yes i have thought seriously about the v90 dac anyone heard this dac?

Yes, I have one. It's fed by a Cullen-modded Sonos Connect and goes into a Sugden A21a and Musical Technology Kestrels (which are due for an upgrade, when I find a good second-hand pair of Proacs or Harbeths). The whole system sounds really great. The Sugden amp is a classic piece of kit; got it second hand for £500. Maybe I could have got away with spending less on the DAC, but I was being a bit lazy and went for something I knew I'd be able to rely on.

Sorry, I know this isn't very specific. I guess what I'm saying is I don't feel the V-90 lets the system down in any way.

Another thought: the Micromega MyDAC is highly rated by some folk. Costs £260, but you might pick up an ex-demo or s/h unit within budget.

Matt

 

[krish123]

thanks for the reply matt. My amp is musical fidelity and like the type of sound that the brand has so it could be good to buy the mf dac to. This might be a silly question but do u think the mf dac will sound better than my current source which is a ipod touch connected via a aux cable? im hoping the mf dac will be a significant improvment.

 

[matt49]

do u think the mf dac will sound better than my current source which is a ipod touch connected via a aux cable? im hoping the mf dac will be a significant improvment.

I'd be surprised if you didn't find a significant improvement, given the rest of your system, and this is certainly a logical upgrade for you. But I haven't heard an iPod Touch going into a decent stereo amp via aux, so don't take my word for it.

Good luck!

Matt

 

[flippo]

Ive wanted to do the same thing but was told to be carefull about which dac to use

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10297427-1.html

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4276807

I was also told that the sound quality over wifi is not that good, but that does not seem to be the case.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15490270#15490270

It will be intresting to see how you get on

 

[slice]

thanks for the replies guys. is the bushmaster mk2 out already ? if not when is it due out? what system did you pair the mk1 version with?

What results did you get with the arcam dac m8? was it an improvement over the aex?

yes i have thought seriously about the v90 dac anyone heard this dac?

The mk2 is out....look up on www.homehifi.co.uk

I used it through a marantz pm6002 amp, using variously a marantz cd player, cambridge cd player and a cheap dvd player as source. The sound was good and the same irrespective of source. It also has a headphones socket which works very well. Sound wise I liked it, but having to press a toggle switch up to 4 times to change source annoyed me-it doesn't have a remote.

 

[tino]

Would this be of interest - http://www.whathifi.com/forum/mp3-mp4/my-pure-i-20-dock-review - iPod dock and DAC. That's if you are not going for a wireless setup.

PS ... If you're still after considering a V-DAC-II I have a mint one going spare

 

[Andrew Fothergill]

Fidelity Audio have some ex-demo DAC-150s for £199 plus delivery. I have one and am very pleased with it, it's a proper half width component incorporating preamp and decent headphone amp. Personally I've had good results via coax (streaming spotify from iphone via pure i-20 works a treat), optical and usb. For the money it's very good dac.

 

[the record spot]

Either stick with the AE, which always had a very decent DAC or check out Ebay or Gumtree for a secondhand Firestone Audio Spitfire II, which was another excellent performer.

 

[Scissor_digits]

Been very happy with my Beresford Bushmaster and the Bushmaster II is currently available with free delivery so it's just over £190.

Lack of a remote control is a minor niggle for an otherwise excellent bit of kit

 

[Cypher]

I would go for the musical fidelity V90 DAC.

Denon is also bringing out a DAC soon ;

 

[krish123]

Thanks for the replies. Just thinking about the aex I don't want any problems in it communicating with the dac I choose. In regards to the v dac mk2 how does this differ to the v90dac? There price is the same I believe aswell.

Iv also seen the arcam rdac around this price I wonder how that compares to the v90 dac from mf? Anyone heard both ?

Any more recommendations welcome

 

[krish123]

Scissors how would u describe the sound of the bushmaster?

 

[Scissor_digits]

Open and detailed without being clinical. Very even across the dynamic range. Very easy to listen to without being fatiguing.

Definitely more detailed than the built-in DAC of my SBT and the Spitfire MkII DAC I previously owned

 

[theadmans]

I own a Bushmaster MK II also. I have spent about £80 to buy an external 12V battery from Amazon. With this battery I can power both my Bushmaster and Squeezebox Touch simultaneously from battery power. This means you can banish 2 walwarts from your system - this gives a very nice improvement to the sound of what is already one of the best DACs under £1000.

 

[krish123]

Appreciate the comments they have been insightful. So far I think my decision will be between the v90 dac and the bushmaster mk2 . Also today I have purchased an aex so need to get that setup . Out of interest am I to expect any improvements over my dac in the iPod sstraight into the amp ? Also Wat cable do I need to connect aex to dac ?