Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

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Berty bass
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Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

Unread post by Berty bass »

This relates to my previous thread about connecting two sources via optical (toslink) into a DAC that only has one such input. It occurs to me that the other way to do it (seeing as I have a spare input on my amp), is simply to buy a second, cheapy DAC for one of the sources. I know there's a few of you that have experimented with low cost Chinese kit before, so would anyone care to recommend me a cheap (so, sub-£100ish) DAC? Either obtainable from the UK or direct from the supplier or country of origin.
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Re: Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

Unread post by TheMarlin »

Topping D30 is great. If you can stretch to the E30-II, that’s even better. £115 on Alibaba
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Re: Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

Unread post by Berty bass »

Or a reasonably priced DAC with 2 x toslink inputs. Just seen a Cambridge DacMagic Plus on ebay which has the required inputs. Currently £143 with a an hour and a half or so to go. I could sell my Dacmagic 100 then and keep the box count the same. Worth taking a punt on?

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Re: Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

Unread post by Fretless »

The DacMagic Plus is a seriously pleasant-sounding DAC, and you can later add an LPSU to improve the performance.

Under 100 quid: I second the vote for the Topping D30 (now E30) and they do an even cheaper unit, the D10.
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Re: Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

Unread post by Grumpytim »

Fretless wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 2:42 pm The DacMagic Plus is a seriously pleasant-sounding DAC, and you can later add an LPSU to improve the performance.

Under 100 quid: I second the vote for the Topping D30 (now E30) and they do an even cheaper unit, the D10.
I'd third this vote for the E30 as well.

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Re: Recommendations for cheapy (Chinese?) Dac please

Unread post by Berty bass »

Fretless wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 2:42 pm The DacMagic Plus is a seriously pleasant-sounding DAC, and you can later add an LPSU to improve the performance.

Under 100 quid: I second the vote for the Topping D30 (now E30) and they do an even cheaper unit, the D10.
I like the idea of keeping it simple with the one unit that accommodates both my sources, so I will put a bid in and see if I can get this for less than £170-ish as I'd likely get £80 or so for my Dacmagic 100. If I do, I'll be asking for recommendations for a suitable LPSU in no time, I'm sure!

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