What's a good cheap recommendation for a DAC? I want to run the sound from my PC to an old vintage stereo amplifier that I'm going to restore (as best I can I guess). I've heard onboard mobo DACs are crap. But would I even be able to hear the difference in quality between an onboard and dedicated DAC if I'm just listening to standard itunes mp3s?
What's a good cheap recommendation for a DAC? I want to run the sound from my PC to an old vintage stereo amplifier that I'm going to restore (as best I can I guess). I've heard onboard mobo DACs are crap. But would I even be able to hear the difference in quality between an onboard and dedicated DAC if I'm just listening to standard itunes mp3s?
It can make a difference, it depends on the system as a whole really. But if you're using good quality mp3s and a decent amp and headphone/speaker combo, I'd say investing in an external DAC would be a nice choice. On the budget end, the FiiO E10 USB DAC/amp is quite well regarded, you can bypass it's internal amp and feed the analog straight into your main amp using either the coax-out or line-out ports. It's a dinky little thing and is USB powered so it won't add much desk clutter either. You can pick it up for £50 from either www.amp3.com and www.hifiheadphones.com (Both of which I've used, excellent sites), although they're both out of stock at the moment. There's a couple of Amazon retailers with them in stock, but they're charging an extra tenner. That's what I'd go for at least, but I'm relatively new to this if you sign up and ask at head fi you'll find infinitely more experienced people who might know something I don't. Even on that site though, FiiO are universally praised for their low-end DAC and amp offerings, so I'd like to think they'd agree with me XD
You lot will know more about this then ido, so thought i would ask .....
Was thinking about getting a tablet in the future but which can alos be connected to a keyboard so that I can use it as desktop, i think they are called tablet pc's? Has anyone got one?
160GB is a bit too much tbh. Are there any other better alternatives with a lower price option and a possible 16GB plus capacity with good quality audio?
I thought of buying an MP3 player and the ipod classic (because the nano looks like **** now) was the first thing to click.
160GB is a bit too much tbh. Are there any other better alternatives with a lower price option and a possible 16GB plus capacity with good quality audio?
I thought of buying an MP3 player and the ipod classic (because the nano looks like **** now) was the first thing to click.
I'd go with one of the following setups for around the same price as the iPod Classic: Cowon J3 + 32GB Micro SD. Widely regarded as one of the best sounding consumer-level PMPs on the market, with a 32GB micro SD you get a great combination of audio fidelity and capacity. However the software is supposed to be quite clunky, build quality isn't the most stellar and Cowon has announced their discontinuation this week, meaning once retailers run out of stock they're likely to become a lot rarer and more expensive, so buy quick if you want one! 80GB iPod Video + FiiO E11 + FiiO L9. A middle ground between the Classic and the Cowon in terms of both capacity and quality. It has almost twice as much space as the Cowon/SD combo, and the iPod Video Generation(s) before the introduction of the Classic are regarded as being the best sounding iPods Apple produced, and sound quality can be really excellent using a line-out cable into a portable amp, in this case the FiiO E11. They will also produce a lot more satisfying sound out of harder to drive headphones if you happen to own a pair with high impedance. The downside is the bulk, which some people won't like. It's still pocketable, just over an inch thick with the two units back-to-back, but bigger than some people will want to carry.
Those would be my choices if you wanted to get the most out of your money. If you wanted to try and save money, a Sansa Clip+ coupled with a FiiO E6 and and 32GB Micro SD will run you back less than £100 but won't sound half as good as those two setups (:
Thanks. I just registered to Audiokarma as they have a whole sub-forum Sansui products which is the vintage stereo amp I have.
No worries (: keep us posted on how the restoration goes, I'd love to have a go at something similar myself if I wasn't restricted by lack of funds, equipment and knowledge XD
Haha that was what I was going to post about before getting distracted by talk of audio
But yeah, I got to have a play on the new iPad yesterday at an Apple store, the screen's incredible. I believe my exact words to my mum were "wantwantwantwantwant". I had to settle for being bought dinner, gotta love your parents coming to visit you at uni XD
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention and I'm not sure if it matters, my mobo has an optical output so I don't necessarily need a USB one. Is there a cheaper optical DAC that's better than that one you mentioned?
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention and I'm not sure if it matters, my mobo has an optical output so I don't necessarily need a USB one. Is there a cheaper optical DAC that's better than that one you mentioned?
I wouldn't expect so, most inexpensive DACs will favour USB because it caters to the masses and for the ability to output audio and power the device through the same cable. Can't say I've stumbled across any low-end options which use optical input
I see. I like the look of the amp, very retro, and seems to be reasonably rated for what it is. It's working, but the pots need to be cleaned and the capacitors will need to be replaced. I'm gonna start a thread on this on audiokarma, see if this is a reasonable endeavour for an utter novice. I got it free so that's a bonus. Caps should only be about £15 or so I think. Also got some Acoustic Research AR-1ms speakers.
I see. I like the look of the amp, very retro, and seems to be reasonably rated for what it is. It's working, but the pots need to be cleaned and the capacitors will need to be replaced. I'm gonna start a thread on this on audiokarma, see if this is a reasonable endeavour for an utter novice. I got it free so that's a bonus. Caps should only be about £15 or so I think. Also got some Acoustic Research AR-1ms speakers.
Very nice, would love something like that sat on my desk. I'd really like an old skool tube amp, just gotta get some speakers that would do it justice. Sticking with a budget minded FiiO E9/E17 setup for now, don't think my girlfriend would be too happy if I blew our holiday fund on audio equipment!