[Daedalus Audio]

My son just returned from Afghanistan and his preamp is dead.  what he needs is something with a DAC (or a DAC with a volume) preferably that has some optical inputs.
any ideas???

thanks,
lou

[srb]

Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1 - $199 + shipping
- 1 optical, 1 coaxial, 1 USB, 2 analog inputs (1 rear/1 front panel), no remote
http://www.mav-audio.com/
 
Emotiva XDA-1 - $299, free shipping
- 2 optical, 2 coaxial, 1 USB, 1 AES/EBU, no analog inputs, balanced outputs, remote input and volume
http://emotiva.com/xda1.shtm
 
Steve
 
 

[lonewolfny42]

Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1 comments from an audition tour...

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=78467.0

[JohnR]

You could have a look at the Audio-GD NFB-11/12 - there is a thread in Cheap and Cheerful

[JLM]

More money: Eastern Electric DAC

[eclein]

Grant Fidelity Tube DAC-09 does all that and has a tube pre out, I use it as a DAC, pre-amp, and general swiss army knife, they are like $225 last I looked..
http://www.grantfidelity.com/site/Grant_Fidelity_Tube_DAC-09

[ted_b]

Burson HA-160D.  Srajan claims its now his reference DAC, and adds a preamp with multiple inputs, and world class headphone amp, all for $1100.  DAC side has USB and coax inputs (toslink to coax converter easy to get).
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/burson5/1.html

Edit: nevermind, too expensive for Circle.

[firedog]

Used Peachtree Nova -try audiogon.com or trading post forum here.

it's also an amp.

[firedog]

Grant Fidelity Tube DAC-09 does all that and has a tube pre out, I use it as a DAC, pre-amp, and general swiss army knife, they are like $225 last I looked..
http://www.grantfidelity.com/site/Grant_Fidelity_Tube_DAC-09

Isn't the Grant just a branded Maverick? Nothing against that. It does give you the advantage of support and repair from Grant.

[srb]

Burson HA-160D.  Srajan claims its now his reference DAC, and adds a preamp with multiple inputs, and world class headphone amp, all for $1100.

I'm sure there are plenty of nice $1100+ units out there, but this was posted in the Cheap and Cheerful HiFi circle.
 
Steve

[ted_b]

I'm sure there are plenty of nice $1100+ units out there, but this was posted in the Cheap and Cheerful HiFi circle.
 
Steve

Well, that's pretty cheap price for a headphone amp, a hi-end DAC and a preamp.  But I'll remove.  Point taken.

[lcrim]

Along the same lines is the NuForce HDP @ $449 which offers a gain stage, a DAC w/ USB input to 24/96 as well as a coax and optical input which are good to 24/192.  There is a headphone amp which can handle inefficient cans and of course analog inputs for another source.  It is powered by a wall wart but a linear ps is available for extra cost.
It is very compact and is well reviewed by 6moons  http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/nuforce14/hdp.html
Head-Fi will also have discussion.  I've not heard it but at the price level, you should look into it.

Larry

[Phil A]

I have the Emotiva XDA-1 in the secondary basement system.  I'm using it as a stand alone DAC so have not played with the volume (which has lots of range), but it is a very nice DAC for $299.  I have a Monoprice HDMI audio de-embedder (under $45) hooked to it via an old Oppo DV980H and I'm taking the SACD out of it and converting it to hi-rez PCM and sending it through the Emotiva DAC.  I must add that the Emotiva is also beautifully constructed withe an all metal remote and is built like products costing many times more.  While it can be used as a stand alone digital preamp, I'd think that after a point of lowering the volume one would lose resolution.

[srb]

While it [Emotiva XDA-1] can be used as a stand alone digital preamp, I'd think that after a point of lowering the volume one would lose resolution.

The volume control in the XDA-1 is a analog resistive ladder that is integrated into the AD1955 DAC chip and does not affect resolution by taking away digital bits.
 
However, if you intend to use it as a preamp direct into a power amp, you should specify when ordering that you would like it shipped with a logarithmic volume curve.  By default, the volume control is programmed with a linear profile that adjusts from 0 - 100 in .5 increments (not .5dB increments).  I found that I could not not adjust the volume as low as I wanted (with the first possible volume setting of .5) and that I only had 7 available steps until the volume was too loud (volume setting of 4.0).  This too-narrow adjustment range will vary depending upon the gain of the power amplifier and the sensitivity of the speakers.
 
The website and manual still state that the volume control is in .5 steps, so it looks like the logarithmic curve (which I think should just be the default) must still be requested on ordering.  I ended up returning mine only because it was advertised that it could accept up to 24/192 via USB (which it couldn't), and because the front panel light dimming function was supposed to have a position to turn off the lights completely (which it didn't).  In a dimly lit room like a Home Theatre setting, the 10 front panel blue halo lights around the buttons + the display were way too bright even at the dimmest level.
 
But I agree with Phil A that it is a pretty good sounding DAC with construction and remote control not usually found in this price range.
 
Steve