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Small form factor, budget DACs?

I'm trying to restore the musicality to my system, piece by piece. A few years ago my Jolida JD-602A CD player finally died and I've never really found a good replacement. I think really I've been mourning the loss and lacked the funds to get something of equal quality (since it was sort of a giant killer).

So, what can I get for < $400? Used is fine, but it has to be a compact form factor - I don't have room for another full-sized component. I think the 1/2 size form factor that Channel Islands, Musical Fidelity and Creek use is about as big as I could go.

24/96 is a plus since I have a bit of DVD-A stuff but not a necessity. I don't really have an opinion for or against oversampling, or regarding filterless DACs.

Here are the DACs that have popped up in my search so far:

$175 - Lite Audio filterless DAC
$250-400 - Ack! Dac
$200? - Creek OBH-14 - I'd have gotten one by now but I have yet to see one pop up on the used market. Probably a good sign.
$300-400? - Musical Fidelity X-24K - older DAC (circa 2000), but it looks nice and let's me stay with the appealing X-component form factor (I have an X-ACT and X-LPS now). Maybe a little overpriced - I can't help but think that for that money I could get something better
$400-600 - Channel Islands DAC - undoubtedly the best DAC on the list, but also the most expensive, so it would take the longest for me to save up the coinage.

Anything I'm missing from the list?
hudsonhawk
brooks
55 posts
 
If you value music over hi-fi, you need to hear a nonos dac.
Steve
hudsonhawk OP
137 posts
 
Gmood,

The non-filtering, non-oversampling DACs are definitely something I've been keeping a close eye on, and reading as much as I can about them. I hadn't heard of the Audio Sector or Audio Note units before - they are both very sharp-looking units.

I had been thinking about the Scott Nixon Chibi Dac with power supply in addition to the Lite Audio and Ack! Dac's mentioned in my first post. Unfortunately, I can't find a lot of info comparing them to the other DACs in my price range, or even to each other - they seem to kind of have a dedicated following outside the scope of "normal" high-end. There's lots of very positive reviews of the Audio Mirror, which is a souped up Dac-Ah - that's the main reason I was looking at that one.

It's something I'm very interested in however. I'm a recovering tube addict who would love to get some analog-ness back into his system, and that seems to be the good word on these.

The Dac-Ah seems like a no-brainer gamble at the price in fact. It's my top choice right now, though Mwilson's words on the older CI dac makes me think it might fit well in my system. And then maybe in a year or so I can save up for that Bel Canto or Birdland DAC.
brooks
55 posts
 
My advice (worth what you are paying for it) it to treat Audiogon like your personal auditioning service. Buy, listen, and sell if you don't like it. You will lose a few buckes each time (maybe), but you will be better off in the long run. Listening to the rest of us lather on about gear we own doesn't really help you in the long run...we all come with our own preconceptions...for example, I owned a Musical Fidelity headphone amp...couldn't wait to get rid of it, so I never reccommend their products to anyone...others obviously will disagree.
It's more work and will take longer, but you will be better off in the end.

There's another thing. Above I said go listen to a nonos dac. I love my dac (it's obviously a nonos), but just because it works in my dac, doesn't mean it will work in a Ack! dac or a Nixon or an Audio Note or a whatever. Listen,listen,listen

Steve
hudsonhawk OP
137 posts
 
Brooks,

A good point and well made. I'm definitely not afraid to buy / sell / start over until I find what I'm looking for.

That said, I really value the input and experience of the community and plan to use that as a starting point. That's why I'm starting my search by soliciting opinions about where to start. If it wasn't for the AG forums, in fact, I wouldn't know about any of these new breed of DACs.

But I trust my ears over everything else. If something doesn't work in my system, I'll be the first one to kick it to the curb :)
clio09
3,353 posts
 
Hudsonhawk - consider the Audio Mirror non-os DAC as well ($500).
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