[minnegopher]

I've recently assembled a fanless Voyage MPD music server.. now, I'm excited to migrate its audio into good sub-$200 USB DAC. 

I'm a bit confused over which DACs will work with Linux over USB without proprietary drivers, ideally I'd like to learn which ones provide the best sampling rates and sound for the money.  From the DAC, I plan on feeding analog outs into my preamp and then on to monoblock amps.

From my own searches, I noted the HRT Music Streamer II, Trends Audio UD-10, various eBay and DIY options, which appear to work with Linux. 

Thanks in advance for your time and recommendations!  I'm very interested to hear from other MPD music server users and get feedback about their DACs!

[mgalusha]

USB Audio 2.0 compatible DAC's should work fine provided you have current ALSA in your Linux build, which Voyage does. Note USB Audio 2.0 is different that USB 2.0. I have used my HRT music streamer II+ with Voyage Linux and it worked perfectly.

I can say that the M2Tech stuff won't work, no Linux drivers. This likely applies to others that require dedicated drivers for OSX and Windows.

[ted_b]

Here is a good list of Class 2 audio candidates:
http://www.sonore.us/Sonore-USB-Compatibility.html

[minnegopher]

Thanks for the quick replies.  There appear to be some options from what you describe.  So, it appear that sub-$200 keeps my in the 24bit/96kHz hardware set, correct?  Are there no-brainers in this price range?  As in over-achieving DACs at a value price?  Thanks!

[Mxyzpltk]

The ibasso D7 features a xmos usb reciever that will do 24b/192kHz with linux, has analog outputs to use as a DAC and a spdif coax out to connect into a better dac later on, headphone amp, line out in 3.5mm and rca, you might want to give it a look.

http://www.ibasso.com/en/products/show.asp?ID=77