Views 5,337 Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 is a $350 USD PCIe Internal Sound Card with an external console controller, a full audio kit designed to be your DAC/AMP with a rich selection of software features, as well as lots of driving power, Xamp, BiAMP, Line Out, and many more features …
DAC or Digital To Analogue converter is a class of device that does just this – converts the data from the digital domain, or files, to the analogue domain, or variations of voltage and power that a transducer or IEM / Headphone can further convert to sonic waves.
You can find my reviews on DACs below, and also the best DACs here: https://amzn.to/3r3NuCj
DAC
SMSL PS200 HiFi High Fidelity DAC – Unpretentious Design, Alacrity Attack
Views 9,729 SMSL PS200 is a $89 USD Multi Function Audio Converter with Bluetooth 5.0 input, DSD512 Support, MQA-CD support, and with an ES9039Q2M DAC at the heart for decoding the input signals. With all the signals going through the XMOS Xu316 popular USB interface, today we will review the …
MUSICIAN PEGASUS II R2R HiFi DAC – Revealer Of Hidden Worlds
Views 21,623 Musician Pegasus II is an R2R $1099 USD DAC sold and fulfilled by Aoshida, and produced by Musician. Today we will review and explore the Pegasus II and compare it to other high-end flagship DACs, including Dethonray Listening M1 (2599 USD), Denafrips Ares II R2R DAC (800 USD), …
KAEI TAP-1 HiFi DACs AMPs – Fuzzy Magic Of Pocket Tubes
Views 15,345 KAEI TAP-1 DACs is a $329 USD DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with Dual CS43131 DACs inside, a Tube Preamplifier stage, and a solid state amplifier stage with modular OP-AMPs, that allow you to fine tune and change the sound. The unit can come in multiple variations, with DACs …
FiiO SP3 BT High Fidelity Active Desktop Speakers – Grandiose Dreams Of A Smooth Talker
Views 11,733 FiiO SP3 BT is a $349 USD pair of Hifi Speakers made for desktop nearfield monitoring, with 80W of Power, a 3.5″ Carbon Fibre Midrange driver and an 1″ Silk Tweeter. Today we will review the SP3 BT and compare them to other speakers and audio solutions that …
iBasso D16 Taipan 1 Bit FPGA DAC AMP with 128 DACs – The Ultimate Listening Experience Of Cascaded 16 Sets of 8E PWM-DACs
Views 22,841 iBasso D16 is a $1499 USD Digital to Analog Converter and Super Class A Headphone Amplifier, designed as a portable unit, with what I consider to be the most unique DAC tech we have seen this year. I am talking about 1Bit DACs, with 16 sets of cascaded …
FiiO K11 R2R DAC Headphone Amplifier – Two Worlds Of Sound And Music
Views 12,603 FiiO K11 R2R is a $169 USD DAC and Headphone Amplifier with an R2R or RRR DAC inside, lots of driving power, and as we will explore today, a very colorful, dynamic and punchy sound, not necessarily characteristic of R2R, but enjoyable and fun nonetheless. Instead of the …
ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX Stereo HIFI Integrated DAC – Ultimate Levels Of Power And Control
Views 27,683 ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX is a 3450 EURO / $3700 USD DAC which can directly drive speakers, and balanced headphones without using any amplifiers. It comes with a remote, and it is one of the most interesting and unique stereo sound reproduction solutions in the whole world. Today we will …
Topping D50 III HIFI DAC – Desktop ESS Studio Dynamics
Views 16,838 Topping D50 III is a $229 USD HIFI DAC with a beautiful silver metallic case, Bluetooth input, TRS Balanced outputs, and RCA Single Ended outputs, with a mini display, and with High Resolution support. Today we will explore how the new D50 III sounds like, and how it …
iFi Zen DAC 3 DAC / AMP – Sonic Balance V3
Views 17,336 iFi Zen DAC 3 is a $229 USD DAC / AMP designed by iFi Audio, with a Balanced headphone output, a single ended headphone output, and it is the latest variant in their lineup of affordable and freshly designed DACs. Today we will review the Zen DAC 3 …
SMSL DO200 PRO Hifi PRE / DAC – 12 DACs From Aoshida With Professional Tuning
Views 21,078 SMSL DO200 PRO is a $399 USD DAC or Digital To Analog Converter sold by Aoshida Audio, with PRE Function, and 12 DAC chips inside working together to bring you a whole new type of sound and tuning for the price point it carries. Today we will review …
Burson PlayMate 2 DAC / AMP – Incredible Efficiency And Precision
Views 24,689 Burson Playmate 2 is a $544 USD DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with a huge driving power for headphones, and a full metallic chassis, but also with modular OP-AMPs for you to tune and sound and enjoy it in your own favorite flavor. Today we will review the PlayMate …
Shanling H2 DAC/AMP – Warmer and Smoother Flask
Views 22,020 Shanling H2 is a $169 USD DAC/AMP with a warm and smooth sound, following the same flask design that we’ve seen with other DAC/AMPs, to which we will compare the H2, including Shanling h5 (369 USD), iFi Hip-DAC2 (190 USD), and Questyle M15 (250 USD). Introduction Shanling …
HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade – Himalaya PRO R2R DAC AMP
Views 28,515 HIFIMAN Goldenwave Serenade is a $999 USD DAC and Headphone Amplifier, with a Himalaya PRO R2R DAC inside, with a new FPGA algorithm and 0.01% precision resistors, and with a THD rate of -6 dB, 0.0012%. Today we will review it and compare it to Dethonray Listening M1 …
Creative Sound Blaster X5 – Delightful Music Comes From Unexpected DAC / AMP / Sound Card
Views 21,846 Creative Sound Blaster X5 is a $299 USD high-quality Sound Card / DAC / AMP mainly aimed at gamers and audiophiles, or rather a hybrid of the two, with a 4.4mm balanced headphone output, RCA outputs, mic input, and with a selection of other features that may come …
Dethonray Listening M1 DAC / Headphone Amplifier – Beautiful And Deep Music Sound
Views 35,642 Dethonray Listening M1 is a $2599 USD DAC AMP made for desktop, with a really sleek design, ultimate sound architecture, and as we wil explore today, a sound that’s unlike anything we heard before. Given its price point, we will compare it to the best of the best …
IKKO ITX05 Docking Station – Super Visuals, Better Sound
Views 18,831 IKKO ITX05 is a $349 USD docking station, with a 4.4mm balanced headphone output, USB DAC functions, and a few other interesting features under the hood. Today we will focus on reviewing it, and comparing it to other high-quality USB DAC/AMPs including Aune X1s GT (349 USD), ifi …
JDS Labs Atom DAC 2 – Crystal Clear Sound
Views 25,948 JDS Labs Atom DAC 2 is a $129 USD high-quality entry-level DAC for all sound systems with no volume control, but with optical and USB Type-C inputs, UAC 2 and UAC 1 fallback, and with a beautiful design, now with a metallic case and which comes with its …
FiiO Q15 Portable DAC AMP – Sweet Sounding Dynamics Master
Views 33,427 FiiO Q15 is a $399 USD portable DAC or Digital To Analog Converter, and Headphone Amplifier, with two headphone outputs, a smartphone mode, and with a huge driving power, but low noise for IEMs. Today we will review it and compare the new high-performance FiiO unit to other …
FiiO K11 DAC Headphone Amplifier – Railgun Power Punch
Views 34,657 FiiO K11 is a $129 USD truly balanced headphone amplifier and DAC, with a balanced headphone amplifier, 1400mW of power, and with adjustable RGB Logo Lighting, which works without a Driver, and as a USB DAC, and is based on the CS43198 DAC. Today we will be reviewing …
HIFIMAN EF600 DAC / Headphone AMP – Towering R2R Music Excellence
Views 27,780 HIFIMAN EF600 is a $799 USD high-end desktop DAC / Headphone amplifier, with a vertical design, Himalaya Ladder DACs, and with a design to maximize desktop space. Today we will be reviewing it and comparing it to other high-end desktop DAC/AMPs, including Aune S9C PRO (699 USD), FiiO …
FiiO BR13 Bluetooth DAC / PRE – Super Connectivity
Views 30,301 FiiO BR13 is a $59 USD Bluetooth DAC / Preamplifier, made under the sub brand Jade Audio from FiiO, which has a multitude of inputs, otuptus, and preamplifier function. As it is the most affordable entry-level bluetooth DAC, it currently does not have competitors, so today’s review will …
Audiophile-Heaven Awards – Best Products of 2023
Views 42,676 With 2023 drawing to an end, I think it is time to be grateful for all the excellent music we heard this year, for all the awesome moments we had together, and to be looking forward to an even better year in 2024! Today we’re publishing our best …
Arylic BP50 Bluetooth Preamplifier – Sleek Media Center DAC
Views 27,681 Arylic BP50 is a $109 USD Media Center DAC with Preamp function, featuring Bluetooth, USB and Line in, designed to be a Media Center DAC, and today we will be reviewing it, comparing it with other entry-level DACs, including Audioengine D1 (169 USD), SMSL C200 (219 USD), HIDIZS …
Drop + xDuoo TA-84 OTL Tube Amplifier / DAC – Clarity & Control Master
Views 31,551 Drop + xDuoo TA-84 is a $399 USD ($349 USD on Pre-Sale) OTL Tube Amplifier with Pre function, DAC function, and excellent build quality, currently sold on Drop, designed for desktop usage, which we will be reviewing today, and comparing to other high-quality DAC/AMPs, including FiiO K9 PRO …