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Desibidu
71
May 1, 2018
Will this drop anytime soon? I am new to audio. Would like to buy an AMP and DAC to pair with ATH M40X. I need to buy a DAP... thinking of getting the Fiio X1 II. I will also use with my IPAD and Galaxy S7 sometimes. This or the jdslabs or mayflower dacs? Which of the 3 is the better one? And each of them have more options for RCA or USB, etc. Is a wall powered dac better compared to usb powered, why? For the AMP, is the Massdrop Objective 2 good or should I go for any of the jdslabs or mayflower AMP's or Amp/Dac combos?
https://www.jdslabs.com/products/176/ol-dac/ (USB or optical) https://www.jdslabs.com/products/46/standalone-odac-rev-b/ (Standard or RCA) https://mayflowerelectronics.com/odac-rev-b-stand-alone/ (3.5mm or RCA)
TaylorD
384
Jul 22, 2018
DesibiduThe SDAC measures as well or better in a lot of cases than the ODAC, as was Massdrop's original intent. It trades blows with the OL-DAC though, the differences are pretty small. It's basically, whichever one is available, at the moment you're ready to buy, at the best price.
Of course, another consideration is the OL-DAC's optical input, which is helpful if you're trying to use it with a Console. Aside from that, the ODAC's don't inherently come with RCA (red/white) Outputs. Meaning, that unless you have one of the O2's that are closer to NwAvGuy's original design, that you'll only have 3.5mm Line-Out, so keep that in mind,
For the money, the O2 is probably a fine amplifier. I ended up getting a second hand SDAC+O2 Combo Unit, and I like it. Never had an O2 before. It seems plenty powerful for the things I have right now. That being said, there's plenty of other options, like the Schiit Magni 3, or a slew of SMSL products... If you're looking for integrated units, the Aune X1S is also a decent pick. It's got a good headphone amp, and a really decent DAC imo, with optical, coaxial, and USB inputs, as well as some RCA inputs if you want to use just the headphone amp section with a different DAC, which is kinda cool.
Of course there's always Audio-GD's famed NFB-11 DAC/Amp combo as well.
A lot of it depends on which headphones you're using, what music you're listening to, how loud, what quality, etc.
My recommendation, if the OL-DAC is affordable to you, get that, and perhaps a Massdrop or JDS O2. If not that, you can get a Schiit Modi 2 (or Uber) and Magni 3, or the Aune I mentioned above. All that assumes you didn't buy anything of course, so good luck either way.
Uzuzu
1431
Oct 4, 2018
TaylorDMeasurements shouldn't drive you. I vastly preferred the sound of the ODACrev1 to the revb and also to the Grace m9xx, and the m9xx had vastly superior specs. The human ear tells all. That said I am curious as to how this dac sounds but apprehensive because I don't need a dac. I found general resolution slightly better with the m9xx, staging better on the ODAC which is more important to me, YMMV.
TaylorD
384
Oct 4, 2018
UzuzuWell of course audio is very subjective, but when it comes to sourcing an Odac, it's much harder, so measurements help one determine whether or not they can expect something to be within striking distance of another.
I personally find the SDAC quite resolving when compared to Akm 4490 equipped DACs, at least the few that I've tried and I've found it sounds better than the X1s's DAC and the DAC in the Shanling M0.
Granted, my sampling is pretty small, but my ears tell me that the SDAC sounds great and is plenty resolving for my current tastes. Though an upgrade would always be welcome, right now I'm focusing on headphones and Amps. Since the dac is have is, for my own purposes at the moment, good enough.
Bur of course all of my suggestions were just that, suggestions. Of course 80 dollars isn't a significant investment imo, and I like the SDAC so much, I bought the Standalone, O2+SDAC second hand and joined the drop for the SDAC-Balanced.
But that's wholly my own opinion and I admittedly don't know too much as I only got into this hobby not very long ago.
moses0101
2
Mar 28, 2019
TaylorDwhat do you prefer tho ? SDAC or MODI 2 Uber ? I'm getting jds atom as my amp. Not sure what to choose..
TaylorD
384
Mar 28, 2019
moses0101Sdac is cheaper, both dacs are similar performance. Never heard the Uber, but since the Modi 3 is a thing, the SDAC is still cheaper. Either the SDAC or the OL-DAC from JDS would be a good pairing. The OL-DAC with Optical is about the same price as the Modi Uber, I think it's slightly more than the Modi 3 which folded the Uber into it for the lower price. At that point it's preference however. It's really up to you of course, and you're welcome and encouraged to try whatever you think you'll like. My preference was SDAC, but DACs aren't as different as they used to be, there's subtle sound variations with all of them, but whether you would notice or not is up for debate. In general, I'd recommend getting what you can afford and what other people are saying good things about. If I could afford an SMSL VMV-D1 or an ADI-2 Pro, I'd own one just to see if I could tell a difference. In reality, the Modi 3, OL-DAC or SDAC could serve your purposes fine. So go for the one that looks prettiest or is most affordable to you, and then decide whether you like the sound or not lol. Edit - Added more info, clarifications, etc.
(Edited)
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