Looking for a DAC/AMP

Am looking into purchasing a DAC with or without an amp to go with my Sager NP9772 and AKG 553 headphones. Ideally, I'd like to use the S/PDIF jack on the notebook itself for the audio and USB for power, but I'm open to a USB-only solution if that will produce better results. I don't want something really bulky, nor do I want to spend more than about $200 or so.

 

Well, the FiiO E17 I have does have a spdif input. It means that it'll run off its battery and you'll have to charge it through USB eventually. I assume FiiO has since launched a newer model or two, but they should normally have similar features and FiiO usually has a decent quality/price ratio.

 

I'm using a Xonar U7 USB sound card (DAC) with my AKG 702 (recently bought) - it's prompted me to re-rip my CD's in Apple Lossless format (doing that this very second!) as opposed to the AAC 256kbps I had before, I think I can detect the sound quality difference. I think the AKG 702's (somewhat similar to yours) sound good with the Xonar U7. It also has the SPDIF connector on the back, but it's just an output rather than input. Here's one review that prompted me to buy the Xonar U7: http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/asus-xonar-u7-review,1.html

 

My surge protector has a pair of USB power ports, so I can charge it off that.

What about something like this? I know I said nothing bulky, but I'm pretty sure I could make it work, and it doesn't look like I would need to use anything USB, just a 3.5mm S/PDIF to optical cable.

 

That looks more bulky than the U7, but it does the S/PDIF that you would like. It's quite an old one though, looks like 2010 introduction. I'm not sure how to read all the specs, but it doesn't do 192khz like the Xonar U7 - mind you I only use 44.1khz and 48khz for CD and gaming respectively. I'd be more inclined to get a newer DAC that got great reviews on tech sites.

 

Use an E17 + JH16's (18 Ohm, even). It's the older version, but unlike its successor it has S/PDIF, does 192K/24-bit (for those that'd notice ...) and only ~$100 used (or $175 new). Quite a successful model, this was/is and still ranked 1st on head-fi.

 

Fiio E10. It is a USB DAC / amp. Cheap, simple, very portable. Runs off of USB for power and data.

For your laptop, is there a particular reason you want to use SPDIF? If you're just looking for a clean, digital signal before it gets converted by the DAC, a USB DAC will do the trick (with far fewer wires than SPDIF)

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