[McPanse]

As many of you know, the Airport Express has an internal DAC that can be bypassed by using a mini-to-toslink cable to connect it to an integrated receiver or standalone DAC.

However, not all DACs are capable of locking onto the AE's digital signal. Case in point: the Citypulse 7.2. I've had two of these units at home and neither one of them would lock onto the toslink out from either my MacBook or AE. Citypulse dealer Audio-Magus has acknowledged this. You can more about the issue here: http://lotusacoustics.com/forum/ (log in required).

I'm hoping Audio Circle readers will sound off on the DACs they have been able to use with the Airport Express.

[Crimson]

Hi,

I've used/use dacs from Scott Nixon, Benchmark, and Hagerman, in addition to numerous receivers and HT preamps with built-in dacs, with no issues. In some instances where a Toslink port wasn't available I inserted a cheap Parts Express glass-coax converter.

[low.pfile]

McP,

Way back when (before drilling a hole in my wall to go direct cable) I used my first gen AE (802.11g ) with a my Monarchy NM 24 DAC (toslink cable is from Monoprice). I don't use that DAC with the AE any longer. Now the AE goes right into my Denon AVReciever, via Toslink, as a backup system.  Never had any locking issues with either setup. Though dropped connections were common. Again with 11g.

ed

[JerryM]

I have tested a Channel Islands VDA-1 and VDA-2 with no problems whatsoever. They are humble DACs, IMO. They do, however, show how inferior the AE DAC really is.
Have fun,
Jerry

[McPanse]

The Channel Islands is on my list. Ideally, the right DAC will have at least one set of analog inputs in addition to coax and optical. I want to use the analog inputs for my CDP's SACD capability and/or iPod dock. Too tall an order?

[chosenhandle]

no problems with the Bel Canto DAC2. I am pretty sure the DAC3 works as well.

[JerryM]

The Channel Islands is on my list. Ideally, the right DAC will have at least one set of analog inputs in addition to coax and optical. I want to use the analog inputs for my CDP's SACD capability and/or iPod dock. Too tall an order?

I don't believe I've ever seen a stand alone DAC with analog inputs. A DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. If one were to input an analog signal, the DAC chip would not recognize the signal. The chip is looking for 1's and 0's to convert to analog. If it's already analog, there is nothing to convert. 

Have fun,
Jerry

[McPanse]

Jerry, some of the DAC/headphone amp combos have analog inputs. Case in point, the Citypulse 7.2 and Zhaolu 2.5. I think the Benchmark DAC has analog inputs as well, but I'm not ready to shell out $1500.

[JerryM]

Jerry, some of the DAC/headphone amp combos have analog inputs. Case in point, the Citypulse 7.2 and Zhaolu 2.5. I think the Benchmark DAC has analog inputs as well, but I'm not ready to shell out $1500.

McPanse,
I can't comment much on the head amps you've listed as I've never had one. However, the Benchmark DAC1 is a preamp, not a stand alone DAC. It has analog inputs that bypass the DAC chip entirely. The head amps I have seen have digital coax inputs, not analog RCA inputs. If a device did have analog inputs, it would still bypass the DAC chipset as no conversion from the digital realm would be required. Once again, a DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. If the signal is already analog, the chipset will not recognize the signal and, at best, bypass said signal to an analog output.
Have fun,
Jerry

[McPanse]

Bypassing the DAC is fine in this case since my power amp has only one set of inputs.  I've tried the Technolink TC-754 as a solution to this problem, but found that it introduced speaker hum when paired with the RadioShack power adapter recommended by the guys at phonopreamp.com. Switching back to the stock adapter fixed that problem, but felt that overall it degraded the sound quality and stopped using it. Maybe I unfairly singled out the TC-754 and should give it another try, especially since most of the DAC and headphone amp combos I'm looking at don't have an extra set of RCA's, which I'll need if I want to connect my iPod and/or take advantage of my player SACD capability.
 

[erimille]

I'm hoping Audio Circle readers will sound off on the DACs they have been able to use with the Airport Express.

I have 3 different DACs at the moment for different zones / systems in my house. Currently I'm using an AudioAlchemy UltraDac, a modified Entech Number Cruncher 203.2 DAC, and a Channel Island VDA-1/VAC-1 combo.

All are huge improvements over the the sound Airport Express internal DAC, with the Channel Island being by far the clear winner.

hopes this helps,

--e

[McPanse]

Thanks, e. I'll consider that one.

[McPanse]

I gave this $80 switchbox a bad rap in one of my earlier posts, noting at the time that I would give it another try.

Well, I'm trying it out right now out of necessity. I've been listening to nothing but CDs since my Little Dot MK IV headphone amp arrived this weekend. When I went to reconnect my Airport Express to my Citypulse, I discovered that the Citypulse's analog inputs don't work with the fixed output. I tried AE>Citypulse Variable Out>LD MIV> Trends TA-10.1 or Beyer DT-880 headphones, but didn't like having an extra live volume pot in the loop.

I dug out the TC-754, made sure everything was plugged into the same surge protector to avoid a ground loop and ran the Citypulse fixed out into the TC-754. I also connected the AE directly into the TC-754, bypassing the Citypulse.

Listening to Wynton Marsalis' The Majesty of the Blues CD for the first time in a long time. Sounds great. If the TC-754 has degraded the signal path, I can't hear it (interesting off topic triva: the centerpiece of The Majesty of the Blues is a rousing spoken word sermon written by Stanley Crouch and delivered by Rev. Jeremiah Wright -- Obama's Rev. Wright)