Help. So it's looking like I need another source. This is equally caused by a room change and stupidly selling the 13 Parasounds I owned recently. I strangely work for company that gives one-off bonuses with gift certificates. Although the list of certs is vast (if only I was looking for a iron skillet, maternity dress or rifle), for audio it comes down to Amazon.com. This is a secondary source so if possible it would be great if I could find an Amazonian solution here. That would probably mean one of these. I always have a Pico DAC to fall back to, but the Parasounds (and Lavry) show I can stretch further. There are some Benchmarks, a PS Audio and some Musical Infidelities here. What do you guys think? Money no object... unless it's too much. Likely paired with a Luxman P-1u or B22 with various Senns.

Duet 2? I don't know if it's out yet, though.

Showed up and then disappeared on Amazon. That was the plan during the Parasound sell-off, but with technology advances, tablets, etc. I was starting feel uncomfortable with an only OS X solution.

Sell the gift card and buy something else ...

dsavitsk, you may in the end be right, though I struggle with the cert/cash ratios.

Thanks guys for your feedback. As always appreciate the comparisons. So far...

Musical Fidelity V-DAC $299

(have my doubts, though V-Link has been a great surprise)

Musical Fidelity M1 DAC $699

Cambridge Audio DacMagic $429

PS Audio - Digital Link III $799

Wadia 151 PowerDAC $1,195

Benchmark - DAC-1 PRE $1595

dsavitsk, you may in the end be right, though I struggle with the cert/cash ratios.

I figure you lose a few % on the cert, but if you buy used gear, in the end you'll do a lot better. Plus, it will hold the resale value.

Can you swing this?

Can you swing this?

Maybe. Maybe even this.

Oooh, shiny.

PWD

Gotta go with the PWD.

I got nuthin'. Although I am a big fan of Musical (In)Fidelity, I have been underwhelmed by anything other than highest end of their DACs in recent years (their X-tubes series being an exception). I was extremely disappointed to find out that a lot of them are topped out at 48kHz. I'd go for the Grace Design, but I suspect you need to find something that's actually considered to be sold by amazon, rather than an external website. Benchmark is certainly decent.

Ric, try to sell the cert. and buy the PWD used for about $1600 to $1800.

What is the output stage design on the iDAC? It uses an ES9016 which is a substantially better converter than that in any of the others listed here. Did a cursory search but didn't see anything detailing it.

I'm liking mine so far.

I'm liking mine so far.

1/4-inch headphone jack feeds loud signals, fit for the most advanced headphones on the market.

Who's writing their copy, Ray?

Thanks for all the feedback so far guys. You're digging up some options that I hadn't seen on the site (and swear weren't returned in searches).

You can always try a Neko DAC, although not sold on amazon

An acquaintance of mine tried the Grace (I didn't) and told me it wasn't up to the hype the Stereophile boys gave it.I for one would try the Wadia just out of curiosity or the PS if budget could go that high. Otherwise, the Benchmark is a safe bet. Not extraordinary but damn good for the price.

@Ric: If you want the Parasound back, I would be perfectly happy to sell it back to you. It is awesome but don't really *need* it (and it is a little bit larger than I would prefer to have on my desk). Just let me know.

Now I kind of want Ric to get an Electrocomopaniet ECD-1.

Who's writing their copy, Ray?

I've not seen that quote on their website, but yeah, even the stuff on their website leaves a bit to be desired. I've even messaged one of the guys that I was dealing with about some blatant mistakes on the website but they've never been fixed. Nonetheless it is a darn good little DAC/Amp for the money.

Maybe. Maybe even this.

I clearly work at the wrong company.

Okay, guys at the risk of wearing out the HC kindness, I have another question. After visiting the California Audio Show last weekend I've been thinking of going vinyl instead of a second DAC. So, provided the same scenario - sold by Amazon (which mostly means a sub-set of Audio Advisor), anyone have any suggestions of a table to consider? Have ready read half the vinyl thread (rest tonight), several Steve Hoffman threads and climbed gerenally through the intertubes for the last week and still confused on how important pitch control is, how irritating a manual over semi-automatic would be, etc. Will investigate carts in a bit. It all started when I saw/heard the sexy Thorens TD 309, but there's the workhorse Technics SL-1200MK2, which I've heard can be greatly modded, Rega RP1 w/Performance Pack, etc. Here's a list, but in normal Amazon fashion, not all results come up even when 'turntable' in the title. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. This is all very new to me.

Edited July 20, 201115 yr by blessingx

Two words: Dew. Et.

The Rega is a well-regarded entry-level table if you don't want to have to mod.

Two words: Dew. Et.

The Rega is a well-regarded entry-level table if you don't want to have to mod.

x2