DAC

[audiophileboss]

I am in need of a USB DAC.(I dropped my friends and it broke) its not for me. His was $15, I would like to buy him one under $300. Whats a good dac with usb for $300

[Hank Murrow]

Say Audiophileboss; I use a Dragonfly with my MacBook Pro to good advantage for a list new of $250. Powered by USB, it includes a 64 position volume control too. Tiny, but very good, it plugs into my Custom Bottlehead Linestage via an Audioquest - Golden Gate Mini-to-RCA 1.5M cable.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/audioquest-dragonfly-usb-da-converter

BTW, Gordon Rankin of Wavelength designed the Dragonfly.

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

[Lar]

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xda2

[RayP]

I've been using an ODAC for over a year and have been happy with it. It's very good value for $100 (naked) or $149 (clothed).

http://www.jdslabs.com/products/39/odac-objectivedac/

Of course there is the Bottlehead / Swenson DAC that seems to be getting closer to the stage where you can buy one.

http://www.bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,4086.180.html

ray

[aragorn723]

Hi,

My friend has an audioengine d1.  It's $180, and sounds really really good.  The bass is super deep, and mids / treble are very clear and non-fatiguing.  It is offered at crutchfield.com, and a bunch of other places..  It supports 24bit/192khz upsampling, and has connections for usb and toslink.  My buddy let me borrow it for a while, and I didn't want to give it back   It has a really good headphone amp too-it easy drove my 32ohm grados.. Just my 2 cents.

Dave

[mcandmar]

I can also recommend the ODAC, the price/performance ratio is hard to argue with.  I'm currently using mine to drive the S.E.X. amp however i am watching the Bottlehead DAC progress in anticipation...

The only other DAC that had my interest was a Twisted Pear Buffalo DAC (DIY), but thats going to be more than $300.