[musicgeek]

Open to other suggestions too! Bluetooth would be a huge plus...
I need both RCA and headphone outs, will move between a desktop setup and HT setup..Will be used with external pre and power amps so a clean/basic analog path is desirable.

Do new DACs of lower price match up to higher ups from the past in SQ?

[rollo]

  Check out Schitt. Not a dealer of Schitt.


charles

[charmerci]

I have older pretty high end Audio by Van Alstine (Ultra) DAC and recently bought a Schiit Modi 3 and though it doesn't have the depth/soundstage of the AVA and not quite the ultimate low bass and extended highs, it sounds comparatively nice.

[Sparky14]

I'm considering the exact same thing.

Audio-gd has the R2R-11 at $350. Also, ESS9028 and ESS9038 based all-in-ones around $400. I had a lot of audio-gd rigs 10-15 years ago, they make great gear.

But, like you, I will be transporting from work to home a lot, so also considering the smaller SMSL and Topping ones as well.

[cujobob]

There are some truly excellent DACs out right now in the low budget range. I'd opt for the SMSL Sanskrit one for $99, or the Topping E30 for $130 (I'd go for the Topping, myself).

As for a headphone amp, the various versions of the THX amplifiers are the best right now and they're pretty affordable. The one from Drop is now $300, Monoprice and SMSL also carry versions for around the same price...all sound pretty similar. If you want to go cheaper, the JDS labs Atom is fantastic, too.

You're not going to find a huge difference amongst well designed DACs unless you get one that is technically inferior (multibit) which adds some 'warmth' to the sound. Nothing wrong with that, if you're into it. Myself, I'd just put a tube in the system somewhere if I were looking for something to add depth and warmth to the sound.

The Soncoz LA-QXD1 seems like it'll be an absolute beast of a DAC around $200, but no remote (if you care about that). It's also balanced. That would be the next step up from the Topping E30, though I can't say the improvements are audible at this level of performance.

[dflee]

I'd recommend IFI.
Took a pretty big price difference to beat it.

Don

[Sparky14]

I opted for the Sabaj D5 with the $399 HiFiExpress deal. After 1 week, I could not be happier.

[cujobob]

I opted for the Sabaj D5 with the $399 HiFiExpress deal. After 1 week, I could not be happier.

Nice grab, that's a fantastic unit. I always seem to miss out on the deals there.

[musicgeek]

I ended up with the Sabaj D5 as well! Such a sweet sounding yet detailed dac!