Views 4,922 With the winter holidays drawing us closer to each other and to our families, it is time to be grateful that we survived another year, that we got to listen to so much excellent music, to meet so many new awesome people, and to explore this wonderful hobby …
DAC or Digital To Analogue converter is a class of device that does just this – converts the data from the digital domain, or files, to the analogue domain, or variations of voltage and power that a transducer or IEM / Headphone can further convert to sonic waves.
You can find my reviews on DACs below, and also the best DACs here: https://amzn.to/3r3NuCj
B. DAC
Creative Sound Blaster G8 Desktop Hi-Res Dual DAC AMP – BiAmp Gaming Acoustic Engine
Views 11,332 Creative Sound Blaster G8 is a $149 USD desktop DAC / AMP with a Dual DAC inside, Hi-Res decoding support, and Proprietary XAMP dedicated amplifier. Today we will review the G8 and explore how it works, how it sounds like and if it would make a good purchase …
SMSL B200 Bluetooth Receiver – LDAC Clarity And aptX HD Strength
Views 28,130 SMSL B200 is a $85 USD Bluetooth Receiver and DAC, with a very rectangular design, and a 2.33″ display at the front. Today we will explore the B200, what it is, how it works, and how it sounds. Introduction SMSL is one of the most popular Chifi …
Loxjie A40 HiFi Integrated Stereo Power Amplifier – DAC and MQA-CD with 165W x 2 Driving Power
Views 22,227 Loxjie A40 is a $255 USD entry-level Integrated Power Amplifier with a huge driving power per channel, HDMI ARC input, USB input, Aux Input, Phono input, and with both a Speaker Output and a Headphone Output. Today we will explore the diverse and boundless world of the A40 …
HIFIMAN EF500 HiFi Desktop DAC / AMP – Hymalaya Stream Of Unbound Power
Views 25,369 HIFIMAN EF500 is a $459 USD Desktop Headphone Amplifier, DAC, Streamer based on the novel Hymalaya R2R DACs developed by HIFIMAN, known to surpass the venerable PCM1704K. Today we will review the EF500 and also compare it with other DAC/AMPs including HIFIMAN EF499 (299 USD), Burson PlayMate2 (544 …
HIFIMAN EF499 HiFi DAC Headphone AMP Review – Music Nectar Sweet Spot
Views 28,311 HIFIMAN EF499 is a $299 USD Entry-Level R-2R DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with a powerful 4.35 W headphone output, and a full-black, vertical design. Given the price point, and the quality of the unit, we will also compare the EF499 with other similarly priced DAC / AMPs, including …
NeoHipo DC10 Mini HiFi Desktop DAC – Fosi Reverberation Converter
Views 22,462 NeoHipo DC10 is a $79 USD desktop DAC with a USB, Optical and Coaxial input, and an RCA Line out, here to give you a clean and crisp sound. Today we will review the DC10 and explore whether it is worth integrating in your stereo system. Introduction …
Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 PCIe Sound Card – Ultimate 32-Bit Xamp Music Explosion
Views 29,475 Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 is a $350 USD PCIe Internal Sound Card with an external console controller, a full audio kit designed to be your DAC/AMP with a rich selection of software features, as well as lots of driving power, Xamp, BiAMP, Line Out, and many more features …
SMSL PS200 HiFi High Fidelity DAC – Unpretentious Design, Alacrity Attack
Views 28,337 SMSL PS200 is a $89 USD Multi Function Audio Converter with Bluetooth 5.0 input, DSD512 Support, MQA-CD support, and with an ES9039Q2M DAC at the heart for decoding the input signals. With all the signals going through the XMOS Xu316 popular USB interface, today we will review the …
MUSICIAN PEGASUS II R2R HiFi DAC – Revealer Of Hidden Worlds
Views 46,268 Musician Pegasus II is an R2R $1099 USD DAC sold and fulfilled by Aoshida, and produced by Musician. Today we will review and explore the Pegasus II and compare it to other high-end flagship DACs, including Dethonray Listening M1 (2599 USD), Denafrips Ares II R2R DAC (800 USD), …
KAEI TAP-1 HiFi DACs AMPs – Fuzzy Magic Of Pocket Tubes
Views 36,800 KAEI TAP-1 DACs is a $329 USD DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with Dual CS43131 DACs inside, a Tube Preamplifier stage, and a solid state amplifier stage with modular OP-AMPs, that allow you to fine tune and change the sound. The unit can come in multiple variations, with DACs …
FiiO SP3 BT High Fidelity Active Desktop Speakers – Grandiose Dreams Of A Smooth Talker
Views 38,943 FiiO SP3 BT is a $349 USD pair of Hifi Speakers made for desktop nearfield monitoring, with 80W of Power, a 3.5″ Carbon Fibre Midrange driver and an 1″ Silk Tweeter. Today we will review the SP3 BT and compare them to other speakers and audio solutions that …
iBasso D16 Taipan 1 Bit FPGA DAC AMP with 128 DACs – The Ultimate Listening Experience Of Cascaded 16 Sets of 8E PWM-DACs
Views 46,261 iBasso D16 is a $1499 USD Digital to Analog Converter and Super Class A Headphone Amplifier, designed as a portable unit, with what I consider to be the most unique DAC tech we have seen this year. I am talking about 1Bit DACs, with 16 sets of cascaded …
FiiO K11 R2R DAC Headphone Amplifier – Two Worlds Of Sound And Music
Views 32,722 FiiO K11 R2R is a $169 USD DAC and Headphone Amplifier with an R2R or RRR DAC inside, lots of driving power, and as we will explore today, a very colorful, dynamic and punchy sound, not necessarily characteristic of R2R, but enjoyable and fun nonetheless. Instead of the …
ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX Stereo HIFI Integrated DAC – Ultimate Levels Of Power And Control
Views 45,518 ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX is a 3450 EURO / $3700 USD DAC which can directly drive speakers, and balanced headphones without using any amplifiers. It comes with a remote, and it is one of the most interesting and unique stereo sound reproduction solutions in the whole world. Today we will …
Topping D50 III HIFI DAC – Desktop ESS Studio Dynamics
Views 34,827 Topping D50 III is a $229 USD HIFI DAC with a beautiful silver metallic case, Bluetooth input, TRS Balanced outputs, and RCA Single Ended outputs, with a mini display, and with High Resolution support. Today we will explore how the new D50 III sounds like, and how it …
iFi Zen DAC 3 DAC / AMP – Sonic Balance V3
Views 31,700 iFi Zen DAC 3 is a $229 USD DAC / AMP designed by iFi Audio, with a Balanced headphone output, a single ended headphone output, and it is the latest variant in their lineup of affordable and freshly designed DACs. Today we will review the Zen DAC 3 …
SMSL DO200 PRO Hifi PRE / DAC – 12 DACs From Aoshida With Professional Tuning
Views 31,844 SMSL DO200 PRO is a $399 USD DAC or Digital To Analog Converter sold by Aoshida Audio, with PRE Function, and 12 DAC chips inside working together to bring you a whole new type of sound and tuning for the price point it carries. Today we will review …
Burson PlayMate 2 DAC / AMP – Incredible Efficiency And Precision
Views 34,835 Burson Playmate 2 is a $544 USD DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with a huge driving power for headphones, and a full metallic chassis, but also with modular OP-AMPs for you to tune and sound and enjoy it in your own favorite flavor. Today we will review the PlayMate …
Shanling H2 DAC/AMP – Warmer and Smoother Flask
Views 32,806 Shanling H2 is a $169 USD DAC/AMP with a warm and smooth sound, following the same flask design that we’ve seen with other DAC/AMPs, to which we will compare the H2, including Shanling h5 (369 USD), iFi Hip-DAC2 (190 USD), and Questyle M15 (250 USD). Introduction Shanling …
HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade – Himalaya PRO R2R DAC AMP
Views 65,423 HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade is a $999 USD DAC and Headphone Amplifier, with a Himalaya PRO R2R DAC inside, with a new FPGA algorithm and 0.01% precision resistors, and with a THD rate of -6 dB, 0.0012%. Today we will review it and compare it to Dethonray Listening M1 …
Creative Sound Blaster X5 – Delightful Music Comes From Unexpected DAC / AMP / Sound Card
Views 38,516 Creative Sound Blaster X5 is a $299 USD high-quality Sound Card / DAC / AMP mainly aimed at gamers and audiophiles, or rather a hybrid of the two, with a 4.4mm balanced headphone output, RCA outputs, mic input, and with a selection of other features that may come …
Dethonray Listening M1 DAC / Headphone Amplifier – Beautiful And Deep Music Sound
Views 87,772 Dethonray Listening M1 is a $2599 USD DAC AMP made for desktop, with a really sleek design, ultimate sound architecture, and as we wil explore today, a sound that’s unlike anything we heard before. Given its price point, we will compare it to the best of the best …
IKKO ITX05 Docking Station – Super Visuals, Better Sound
Views 25,888 IKKO ITX05 is a $349 USD docking station, with a 4.4mm balanced headphone output, USB DAC functions, and a few other interesting features under the hood. Today we will focus on reviewing it, and comparing it to other high-quality USB DAC/AMPs including Aune X1s GT (349 USD), ifi …
JDS Labs Atom DAC 2 – Crystal Clear Sound
Views 39,140 JDS Labs Atom DAC 2 is a $129 USD high-quality entry-level DAC for all sound systems with no volume control, but with optical and USB Type-C inputs, UAC 2 and UAC 1 fallback, and with a beautiful design, now with a metallic case and which comes with its …