Yes that is the OTG cable that I was referring to. I have spoken to a few people on Head-Fi that could never get the combo to work. The DAC would just never take a feed or recognize the DAP.
I backed out of the deal. I guess I have to do more homework.
Maybe I will just have to buy new with a return policy to be assured of compatibility.
I know the OP has made a selection, but figured I’d toss the NAD D1050 into the mix. $338 on Amazon… but readily admit that rarely see anything about NAD products anymore… no idea why.
I have looked at that DAC. There seem to be several versions of it, each with a different model #. None of the reviews really rave about it, but just mention that NAD is a great brand. I would not argue with that as I loved my C372 for many years.
Still haven’t made a hard decision, but leaning towards the SMSL SU-8. However repairs or service seem limited to replacement, if you can get their attention. Still listening to all suggestions.
If you want to try the NAD, my brother has one that he wants to get rid of (I’ve never heard it). He used it as an AIO at work and doesn’t use it anymore. I’m sure it would be well under your $300 price point…
No, in PA, but I’m I can ask him if he’d be willing to ship to Canada. I’ve had private party stuff sent to me from Canada and nothing has ever gotten held up. I’ll ask him
I use a SMSL-SU8! I am not sure about getting a replacement but when I asked a few questions about it during Shenzens New Years sale they were fast to answer and fast to ship after they were in stock, so hopefully the service for getting it replaced isn’t too bad.
I haven’t played around with the PCM filters since I was happy with Fast Linear but I did play with the digital filters. The one it came loaded with is Standard, which I think sounded wonky, it’s like it added a hump in the mids. I switched around them and am a fan of Crystal 3 and Original. Crystal 3 makes the bass a little less punchy but makes the highs a bit more sparkly without changing anything else much. Original sounds the most normal, no bass change, no sparkles, no mid weirdness.
The only balanced DACs I considered were the almost released SMSL M300(which has a AK4497 chip) and the Geshelli Labs ENOG2 since the original ENOG sounded really great. Spec-wise the SMSL-SU8 looked solid spec-wise and measures well, especially balanced, which is why I went with it.
Note of caution though, you need the remote to do any changes other than the source select. If you lose it, there is no way on the device to access the functionality. Ridiculous!
You may be able to get the SMSL M300 through AliExpress, which may ship to Canada for free? I couldn’t confirm when I entered an Address to test.
I am always scouring Canuck Audio Mart for stuff. The vast majority of which I don’t need or can’t afford.
However, sometimes an ad just jumps out and grabs you. It screams that “You don’t know anything about music reproduction if you don’t buy this level of product, you are just a pretender!”
That was all conveyed via the price.
The product is a DAC: Tchernov Audio Apollo DAC. There is quite a considerable cut and paste about the majesty of this product.
Normally the retail price is $44,475.00, but you can grab one for the super duper price of $39,475.00.
I guess this would be a nice addition to your $500,000.00 system.
How many folks do you suppose browse a used gear web site featuring $300.00 to $3,000.00 used DAC’s see that ad and go “DUH! I have been doing this all wrong. I am going to buy that DAC and then start building a REAL system!”
The mind boggles at the wealth out there. Not a diatribe against rich folks, it just caught me off guard.
I have seen and even heard some high end stuff, but wow.
I have seen those, but they are pricey. The UD-301 sells for $599.00 up here, plus 15% tax.
If I could find it used for about $400.00ish, I would probably jump on it. I have never seen a used one.
The longer this thread goes on, the more it makes me want to re-iterate the reality of balanced DACs in the headphone space.
The benefits to a balanced DAC feeding a balanced amplifier are, at best, three-fold:
Balanced cabling is better able to reject external interference. This is rarely an issue in home situations and is generally only a factor with long (multi-meter, often stage/studio width length) cable runs.
Balanced connections can (but do not always) help eliminate ground-loop/hum issues. If you don’t have this to deal with, then this benefit it moot.
In theory, in the right implementations (usually not the cheap ones), you can attain one additional bit (6 dB) of dynamic range from your DAC implementation (requires dual, phase-inverted, DACs per channel).
For a given price, a balanced DAC is unlikely to sound as good, or measure as well, as a single-ended DAC, simply because you have to compromise on the parts quality to be able to cover 2-4x the number of parts in the balanced version vs. the singled ended.
There are very few low-cost balanced DACs for this reason.
You’re almost certainly better off using a single-ended DAC and a Y-spliiter and feeding both amps a single-ended signal. The P20 is not such a great performer that it really matters how you feed it.
