Of the USB DAC's I've tried at length, none showed significant sonic differences between their USB and SPDIF inputs. On those which have had AES/EBU input, I've noticed it to have a small yet positive effect on flow and PRaT. Is it worth using an expensive interface just to get AES/EBU? Probably not.

If one is just playing back music, I don't see much need to use a sophisticated pro-audio soundcard if your DAC has USB. If you actually need features like word clock, AES/EBU, low-latency, multi-channel mixing, etc, perhaps such a soundcard would be a worthwhile addition.

Has anyone ever done a shoot out between the apogee mini-dac and the headroom desktop balanced?

BTW, still waiting for KenW to tell us what he thinks of his desktop. I read some of his impressions over at h***-f*, but I'm feeling neglected as a head-caser.

Didn't he say he sent the Desktop back?

Well now there's HeadAmp's one-box solution, which I will probably get once it comes out. When does it come out again?

Well now there's HeadAmp's one-box solution, which I will probably get once it comes out. When does it come out again?

True, the new headamp sounds interesting. However, small size and transportability are not important to me, and these are some of the selling points of the product. But hey, it could still sound as good or better then an Apogee or Desktop, for all I know.

Well now there's HeadAmp's one-box solution, which I will probably get once it comes out. When does it come out again?

Given that all that was shown was the prototype who knows, I'd probably think around Christmas time or so.

Maybe you should take a look at this - Headroom Micro Portable Amp/DAC.

Just announced today.

Given that all that was shown was the prototype who knows, I'd probably think around Christmas time or so.

Probably October/November, some of the parts have a 3 month lead time. The closest competition to it would probably be HeadRoom's upcoming Max Micro DAC (as far as quality of the DAC, with upsampling and a flagship DAC chip) but for USB input mine is probably the only one that avoids the extra conversion to SPDIF

Probably October/November, some of the parts have a 3 month lead time. The closest competition to it would probably be HeadRoom's upcoming Max Micro DAC (as far as quality of the DAC, with upsampling and a flagship DAC chip) but for USB input mine is probably the only one that avoids the extra conversion to SPDIF

Ah ok, well that sounds promising. Care to tell what DAC chip it uses?

WM8740

WM8740

I don't know all the model numbers and brands but that sounds like a Wolfson?

http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/W/M/8/7/WM8740.shtml

That is the same DAC used in the TwistedPear Opus, cool.

That is the same DAC used in the TwistedPear Opus, cool.

I think I'm going to build one of those when the budget allows.

I prefer same as in the Arcam CD33 (one of the first and best high-end CDPs I owned, which led me to consider the WM8740), Rega Apollo/Saturn, and many other players. There were only about 3 or 4 DAC chips that were serious options, and of course there are various DIY projects that use all of them

What is your system btw Justin?

Computer/Meridian 500 CD Transport -> Benchmark DAC-1/my new USB DAC+Amp -> Any amp I build -> Stax Omega II/Stax 404/HD650/K701/Grado RS-1/Ety ER-4S

All right, I believe I've decided. HeadAmp it is.

Audiotra Japan have an improved Dr.DAC out. I've always wondered what that's like, it seems like just the thing for basharound 'point to point' use with a laptop.

http://www.audiotrak.jp/product/?audiotrak=DR.DAC%202

In terms of UK pounds it's less than an iPod, but I guess for you Americans it's probably a zillion bucks

Audiotra Japan have an improved Dr.DAC out. I've always wondered what that's like, it seems like just the thing for basharound 'point to point' use with a laptop.

http://www.audiotrak.jp/product/?audiotrak=DR.DAC%202

In terms of UK pounds it's less than an iPod, but I guess for you Americans it's probably a zillion bucks

Yeah, I saw that yesterday. Seems rather decent (though I haven't taken the time to look at the amp section in more detail). I was interested by the first version when it came out. Almost got zChan to help me buy one, but decided not to buy it in the end.