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OK. I have my own budget DAC shootout. I lived with a $100 SMSL DAC far too long, so I wound up buying three budget DAC's in the span of two months :-)Got the Wiim Pro + for Christmas for it's streaming capabilities. The streaming is OK, I mean, it was about time. They still don't have full Apple Music integration so my wife doesn't use the Streamer. I think Apple ought to agree to allow Wiim to integrate fully, otherwise, when we finish watching the Apple TV shows we're interested in, I'm going to ask her just how much does this cost and is this the best way forward??
However, it's after Christmas, so I bought a Yulong Aurora DAC from eBay. It's before Chinese New Year's, so they tell me it won't get shipped till after the Chinese are finished celebrating. I'm going on a long vacation soon, so I tell them I'm concerned about the ship date. Well, they put it on a FedEx plane and I get it to me within two days, after Chinese New Year's is over, that is.
So, knowing about this delay, I purchase the Fiio K11 to tied me over. That's three DAC's in less than two months :-)
Edits: 03/02/24 03/02/24Follow Ups:
I'm done with this reviewing stuff, as it is difficult, so I will be brief.
1. You need to use USB because optical (on these relatively inexpensive) DACs sucks.
2. You almost ALWAYS need to pay as much attention to your headphone amplifier as to the DAC itself.
3. The K11 could be a good gift or a good traveling companion. You STILL need an outboard headphone amp. As a gift, they will be thrilled and will not ask for more. As an audiophile, you need an outboard headphone amp PERIOD.
4. The Yulong was compared to an $1800 Burson in the review that I had read. Yeah, make my day, that's ridiculous :-) It needs an outboard headphone amplifier, too, but one that cost as much as the DAC itself.
5. I'm not disappointed at all and am enjoying BOTH DACs in their context.
I'm not familiar with the DACs you auditioned but you made some interesting observations that I'll comment on. FWIW.....1. You need to use USB because optical (on these relatively inexpensive) DACs sucks.
--- I tend to agree but inmate Todd Krieger might argue the opposite, but your DAC your ears. Todd has this incredible gift of being able to hear RF ;-)
2. You almost ALWAYS need to pay as much attention to your headphone amplifier as to the DAC itself.
--- Within the DAC itself I'd say you have to pay as much attention and more to its analog output stage. Many DACs use the same DAC chip but what seems to separate the great ones is the analog stage and a good power supply... and it doesn't have to be an old school linear power supply (LPS). Many DACs are designed by engineers with digital expertise but little background in quality analog design.
3. The K11 could be a good gift or a good traveling companion. You STILL need an outboard headphone amp. As a gift, they will be thrilled and will not ask for more. As an audiophile, you need an outboard headphone amp PERIOD.
--- The analog output stage in many modestly priced DACs is an after thought so regardless of what whiz-bing new DAC chip of the month it might use, the analog stage just doesn't cut it.... with headphones or otherwise.
4. The Yulong was compared to an $1800 Burson in the review that I had read. Yeah, make my day, that's ridiculous :-) It needs an outboard headphone amplifier, too, but one that cost as much as the DAC itself.
--- I rarely ever listen with headphones (unless I'm traveling) but Schiit makes some solid and reasonably priced headphone amps for home use. I have the Asgard II and it sounds fantastic. Not sure if they still make that one but they have many other models.
5. I'm not disappointed at all and am enjoying BOTH DACs in their context.
--- I presently own 2 DACs. One is ESS/Sabre chip based and the other AKM. They sound a little different but both are outstanding. I have to shake my head when audiophiles insist on asking which is "best". It depends on what mood I'm in ;-)
On a related note I often see audiophiles strapping outboard DACs, cords, power sources, etc. to their iPhones for travel. In many cases all they really need is a decent portable headphone amp. On the other hand, I travel light so I am completely satisfied with my Sony bluetooth headphones paired wirelessly to my iPhone while on a flight. No equipment clutter, no wires, no hassles. If I were traveling to a vacation spot where I would stay for a couple weeks I would consider a better sounding portable setup. Otherwise it's just the iPhone and Sony headphones.
Edits: 03/11/24
Todd has this incredible gift of being able to hear RF ;-)
that he hears the effects of which in his world.
They still don't have full Apple Music integration so my wife doesn't use the Streamer.
Repurpose an old iPhone/Android for an inexpensive solution. I use previous iPhone8 for streaming SiriusXM in the garage system.
OK. The K11 is the perfect gift I think. I'm waiting for my daughter to accept an enhancement to her computer audio. I'm patient, so I put it away. It's the most perfect embodiment of an audio accessory, but here's what I can tell you:
Using my BeyerDynamics DT1350, which I think are rather good low-impedance phones (not testing any other combination right now except I went through several Blue Tooth headphones already, no DACs, but plenty of blue tooth receivers).
The K11 is nice. It really think it needs an outboard headphone amplifier for best results, but you will spend more on the headphone amplifier than on the K11.
I'm using a home assembled headphone unit. Bass is OK, treble is a little sharp, but it's all very intelligible and the outboard headphone amplifier delivered the bass side of it to good effect, so it's good overall for the investment, definitely outshining anything that is on a computer motherboard, no matter how much you spend for that.
To me, the only ONLY benefit of paying for computer audio is that you get a Toslink output which is just so handy, but that's it.
I have the Aurora DAC. I wanted the outboard 12volt power supply so that in the future I can consider an upgrade which for Topping and SMSL you can't do.If one is doing computer audio, the headphone part is so important IMO. The Aurora is supposed to have a good headphone section to match it's DAC section.
It's very good, but the treble is not sharp, but not smooth either. However, the bass just makes up for that. The outboard headphone amplifier even improves on that. This is all with Toslilnk
I have a good Audioquest USB cable that I use now. It completely tames the treble now, to my liking, I mean, it's just so smooth. However, the bass is no longer as prominent as with the optical. (I really don't understand this, so someone can inform me on this, perhaps.)
So, with the optical, the bass was just carrying the show, being so much fun. With the USB, it's much more integrated, but the bass is not as prominent as before and, maybe, more accurate. The outboard headphone amplifier helps with this, giving good bass AND smooth treble response.
The weather changed here, which is a good sign for audio. Everything got better now. I think an upgrade power supply is in my future. In the meantime, they were ALL good upgrades.
Let me add that when I had the Topping D90, it pissed me off so much that it required a warmup period to sound it's best. The Aurora is very consistent. The K11 did need a break-in period of a few hours the first time, I think. The Aurora seems consistent, not requiring a break-in. Note that the Topping seemed to require me actually playing music for the warmup which is why I got rid of it so quickly.
Edits: 03/02/24
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