Megido

I'm looking to spend around $500 on a new DAC (willing to go higher if its really worth it) but its proving difficult to narrow down my options. I have read reviews on the DacMagic and rDac but have not really seen anything on the dac*IT other than your "It's an awesome DAC". I would love to know how it compares to others in its price range.

I'm curious what your thoughts on the new V-Dac II are. I know its not out yet and that's my current dilemma. I am very interested in the Dac IT because I heard very good things about the Dac used in the Inova and peachtree claims the Dac IT sounds even better. Still, being in the same price range, I can't help but wonder if I should wait for the V-dac II, especially given how often you sing the praises of asynchronous usb. Thanks

Anyone heard it? Really interested but I wonder if I would be better off waiting for the new V-dac II.

I'm looking at getting a new DAC to replace my dead nuforce udac. I have heard wonderful things about the sound of the V-DAC with the only real complaint being that it sacrifices timing for tonality. So, if I bought this along with the v-link, would that fix the timing issues?

I have been driving myself crazy trying to wrap my head around this whole computer audiophile world. My entire music library consists of loss-less CD rips. I fell like The highs are too harsh and I can very quickly become fatigued to the point of frequently skipping around my library and not playing songs all the way through. I don't have this problem when playing vinyl through the same receiver and speakers that my computer is connected too. I think what I need to do is upgrade to a DAC but I am not sure what I should be looking for. My sound blaster has an S/PDIF out and can support up to 24/96 output. Since my entire music library consists of CD rips do I need a dac that can go that high or would I still get much better sound from a 16 bit dac? I am on a budget so I am trying not to spend more than I need to. The more I read the more confused I get. I have been looking at the nuforce Icon HDP but I am wondering if I would be satisfied with something a bit less expensive. I know it's not hugely expensive but I am a college student and every dollar counts.

I currently have all my cds ripped as lossless flac files. I run both my computer and my turntable through the same receiver and speakers. The computer's sound card is an old audigy 2 ZS. As it stands everything on vinyl sounds worlds better than what is coming out of my computer. I especially notice the difference in the low end of things. Being a bass player, that is where I tend to focus a lot of my attention and everything played off of my computer just seems to be lacking. I notice that on my computer I often get fatigued listening to even some of my favorite songs and am constantly starting a new song even before the previous one had finished playing. Since both are essentially going through the same speakers and receiver I assume the problem is the computer. For the most part I have been looking at the Devilsound DAC as it seems to consistently get good reviews and is comfortably within my price range. Recently, through the audiopheliac blog and stereophile website, I have been made aware the Asus Xonar Essence sound cards. I was just wondering if anyone had experience with these two products and could possibly help me figure out which way to go. Also, is there something else I should be looking at? Thanks for the help. This is all still somewhat new to me.