DAC Suggestion ? 5k

Nerevarine

Incarnate
Hello,

Need a DAC under 5k to use with Swans M10 and ATH-M50X.

Fiio E10k is natural choice. Are there any other options. 2 separate jacks (one headphone + one line out, for speakers) is mandatory.

Thanks in advance
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
In India all are expensive...You may dig with Aliexpress.., Lot of variety and options.
I don't think you can get "quality DAC" from there at much cheaper rates plus nowadays govt has tightened the policy so getting anything above 5k(& that's not just based on its bill value but rather the impression of customs officer) from aliexpress is risky.
 

shreeux

Movie Buff
I don't think you can get "quality DAC" from there at much cheaper rates plus nowadays govt has tightened the policy so getting anything above 5k(& that's not just based on its bill value but rather the impression of customs officer) from aliexpress is risky.

Yes, based on lucky some of them not paid duty. While placing an order, if you mention low invoice, they will make as we suggest.
 

whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
That is why govt tightened the rules. Now low value invoice or not,customs official will check the product if "it looks like it costs more than 5k"(bigger the packet size/more complicated the scanner image,higher the chances of this) & will levy customs duty.
 
OP
Nerevarine

Nerevarine

Incarnate
So I recieved my headphones, the audio out from my computer mobo is low-ish.
I tried with macbook 3.5 mm jack and its somewhat better (still have to set to 100% volume)..
I think I will need a dac/amp or atleast an amp, for mainly two reasons..
1)the reason i mentioned above
2) very inconvenient to reach out to the back of my desktop to unplug speaker and plug in m50x.since front panel audio is busted (both mic + speakers lol)

If I cant settle on anything, its going to E10k. People are saying behringer u202 is good, but seems very differing opinion...
@whitestar_999
I visited their forums, man its a blackhole. High end audio forum is pure cancer. Their "budget" lineup starts from 300 USD. All the indian forum members are using USD currency instead of INR ? Still looking into older threads in those forums, maybe ill have a reliable review of any good dac other than E10k.


Overall im kinda surprised with M50x, its an overhyped product, or maybe I can experience it's true potential with a proper Dac/AMP. So Ill reserve final judgement later until I get one.

Still consider the best VFM earphone to be E10c/E10bt. Absolute best SQ per price. and ofcourse Swans M10, very nice sounding speakers.
 
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OP
Nerevarine

Nerevarine

Incarnate
In India all are expensive...You may dig with Aliexpress.., Lot of variety and options.
can u suggest some models. I can see FX Audio DAC X6 from ZReviews, it seems available at good price 65 USD. But will Gormint put customs on it ? I ordered Rock64 for similar amount (around 61 USD) and no taxes were added.
Also, really dont wanna wait a month for aliexpress lol.
 

shreeux

Movie Buff
can u suggest some models. I can see FX Audio DAC X6 from ZReviews, it seems available at good price 65 USD. But will Gormint put customs on it ? I ordered Rock64 for similar amount (around 61 USD) and no taxes were added.
Also, really dont wanna wait a month for aliexpress lol.

SMSL very known product. But keep on wait is unavoidable. You may compare similar site Banggood.
Read carefully in google for tips and tricks for purchase in Aliexpress. Plan accordingly.

SMSL M3 USB DAC
 

shreeux

Movie Buff
Otherwise, save some money to buy this one for safezone...Schiit - Magni 3 - ₹ 9,999
For future proof also.,
 
OP
Nerevarine

Nerevarine

Incarnate
The HifiBerry option, or any other raspberry pi option, if it sounds as good as dedicated DACs, seems like a solid choice.
Just 2 weeks ago, I won a raspberry pi 3 B+, which I had no use for, since I Bought a ROCK64.
If this thing is viable, I'll definitely prefer this.
 

TheSloth

The Slowest One
The HifiBerry option, or any other raspberry pi option, if it sounds as good as dedicated DACs, seems like a solid choice.
Just 2 weeks ago, I won a raspberry pi 3 B+, which I had no use for, since I Bought a ROCK64.
If this thing is viable, I'll definitely prefer this.
So what did you buy? How much and from where?
 
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