vasilli

When I first heard about the asynchronous technology I started to believe that these next generation DACs are already, by definition, better than anything already existing. I was hoping to upgrade my Musical Fidelity TriVista 21 DAC to something from Wavelength of Ayre QB9. But now, after reading this discussion, I'm startting to doubt that 'asynchronous' alone is the final word on quality. So, are the Alpha DAC and Minerva still #1 recommendations on the cash list? QB9 is the last on the list.

I've been in your shoes just a few months ago and have done a lot of research on HeadFi. I was looking for a USB DAC w/ a headphone amp for my AKG K701s. I've considered: Keces 151 dac -> Keces 171 headphone amp (can take amp home). ($600+, kinda expensive) Keces 152 DAC + amp ($495 on EB) Meier Corda Opera ($900 used) XM5 bufdac (portable) ($cheaper) C&C XO+ (portable) ($cheaper) At the end I decided that portable is not good b/c I will hardly use it. I went with Yulong DAH1 ($420 on EB, can be had cheaper used). I'm quite happy with it, though i haven't listened to anything else so i can't compare. http://www.pacificvalve.us/Yulongdah1.html