Netbook to USB DAC to Headphone Amp on Batteries

Jax2

Thanks for the excellent research and links - just finished working my way through them. Justin from Pico sounds like a true enthusiast - could be a one box solution...

Jondkaufman - the Wavelength looks very nice too - not sure about the weight or value per $$$....

More to choose from here than I would have imagined...would love to see the results of a "shoot out" with high resolution headphones.

More to choose from here than I would have imagined...would love to see the results of a "shoot out" with high resolution headphones.

So a search over at HeadFi.org. There are numerous shootout threads pitting one or two of these against the other. Like here, take everything with a grain of salt...in fact, take it with more salt IMO - it is a different crowd over there, with plenty of crossover. There's a member there, Skylab, who's been doing an ongoing shootout that focuses more on the small headphone amnps, rather than the DAC's.

In general the Pico DAC and the iBasso D4 DAC are two of the most respected in the smaller offerings. I don't use a laptop interface - I simply use an LOD cable out of my iPod (older model or iPhone), into the D4 which is straped together with the iPod. The kit fits neatly with some accessories into a Lowepro Rezo 50 digitial camera bag. You didn't ask about portable headphones, and that's a whole other ball of wax.

Cw- I have the Music Streamer+ which is very nice sounding and costs about the same as the VDAC. I have not used it w headphones; I am using it to feed the digital stream from my music server to the NHT M00/S20 speakers I have in my office. I have not done any comparisons at all w the office rig, but I do believe it sounds very nice, in total.

Pugstub,

Before completing my research, I impulsively ordered a Nuforce UDAC.

It arrived quickly, and I was also impressed with the finish, build quality and cool LED light. Very small and USB powered, so also perfect for traveling.

On this morning's commute, I tried it out with my Lenovo netbook, iTunes and a pair of in ear Shure headphones.

This reminded me why I got into this hobby about 30 years ago:

Despite the bashing that we audiophiles sometimes receive for being preoccupied with equipment and tinkering, it felt like the first time in a few thousand miles of recent commuting and business travel that I forgot about the equipment and really enjoyed listening to music.

This may not be the state of the art solution for portable USB audio, but it was very enjoyable and thanks for the tip.

Of course, no self respecting audiophile would stop with any solution simply because they were satisfied and happy, so please do continue with any suggestions for the ultimate quality in portable devices.

When I have the chance, I will try using the Nuforce device simply as a DAC, with RCA out to my Head Room or Grado head phone amp.

cwlondon

I too have purchased a Nu-force UDAC. Paired with my Sennheiser HD 555's, I find this setup to be very satisfying. One bump in the road to mention, which I have not addressed with Nu-force (& may decide not to): My UDAC doesn't like to be powered up continuously. Left turned on, after several days a whistle developed in the left channel, that disappeared after the unit was powered off for an hour or so. This problem has been repeatable, as I have forgotten to turn the unit off after several satisfying listening sessions of multiple hours each. The unit was also warm to the touch after several days of being powered up. The whistling has occurred when the UDAC unit has been driven, or idling. Once cooled down and off for awhile, the unit comes back sounding as good as new. Guess the power switch is on there for a reason.......but Nu-force does not provide any warning about it being powered up continuously. The sound is so impressive on this little unit, it makes me want to audition their amplifiers....