[lcrim]

Last week I picked up a cheap DAC, the M-Audio SuperDAC 24/96. and connected the digital out of my Samsung SIR-TS360 directv HDTV receiver.  The M-Audio is a pro sound product - its outputs are 1/4" and XLR (AES/EBU) so I ran to Rat Shack and picked up 1/4 to RCA mono adapters, and from another source got an Atari 9V 3amp power supply.
I like the music channels (800-851) on D* very much and to cut to the chase, now the quality is quite nice not quite CD quality but the spatial ques are there and the sound is clean and full range.
The M-Audio Super DAC is a cool little piece, you can switch between coax and fiber inputs, it locks onto the digital stream almost instantly and sounds better and better as it burns in.  I have the digital out from the cheap Sony DVP NC875V player connected as well and I can can switch between the Sony DAC's and the M-Audio on my preamp (I still use the Sony SACD DAC's) and the differences are more about emphasis than quality but I narrowly prefer the M-Audio.
The cost was very reasonable, $219 for the DAC, $5 for the adapters and $5 for the stronger PS, it comes w/ a 1amp wallwart.  Of course I had digital cables and IC's.
Giving credit where credit is due, Wayne @ Bolder suggested it.  Thanks again.

[Rashiki]

I'm also interested in this DAC. From the pictures, it looks like it wants a 9V AC power supply. Can you confirm that it wants AC and not DC? If it was 9V DC, this would be potential target for running from a battery.

Has anyone compared the M-Audio DAC to the Scott Nixon DAC?

[lcrim]

It is 9V AC and the power supply shipped w/ the unit is a 1 amp unit.  You can find a 3 amp Atari ps @ Hosfelt Electronics for ~ $5.00 which is a cheap tweak that improves performance w/ no drawbacks.
There is a great deal of info available at the url: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/M-Audio_SuperDAC_2496/
There is apparently much more interest in Europe than here in this DAC.  It is usually compared to the Art DIO as it is a pro audio piece.  There are older threads on it over @ the Asylum in the digital forum.  The DAC chip is from Crystal I believe and if you are into DIY there is great potential in modding it.  I found a long thread on modding it @ http://zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1176&highlight=m-audio+superdac   This is a veddy British headphone site that can be hard to follow at times.
I don't know how to categorize the quality of this unit.  If or when I get the time to do PC audio, it gives me the ability to use a bit perfect digital stream card like the Chaintech AV710 (~$25).   Wayne has modded this DAC in the past and feels the electronics are quite good.  Mine is still improving as it burns in.
Hope this helps.