DAC

[cnzsystem]

I have XA20ES and XA333ES.

Would like to get an external DAC that would substainably improve the sound quality.

No USB capability is requires. Have coaxial connection from both players.

Budget max 500NZD. Please suggest. Would tube ones be appropriate?

[Ernie]

A Firestone Spitfire 2 would do the trick. Will blow your budget by a couple of hundy though.

[tkr001]

If you are going to blow your budget by a couple of hundy then a Dacmagic is a good bet.

[cnzsystem]

What about Grant Fidelity DAC 11?

[too_tall]

Wyred4sound make a stunning wee microDAC - which is superior in performance to either the Cambridge audio DAC magic or the firestone spitfire in my opinion. $399 USD, the distributor is deephz audio in Australia, who ship direct to NZ. I would expect to be paying around $550 incl delivery from them at present.

There are a couple of these DAC's out and about, but they are dealer demo models, I believe that they are officially available mid January. I heard one a couple of weeks ago in a very high end system, and it did not disappoint, not at all. 24/192, Async USB, tiny tiny footprint. Might be what your after?

[dunnoguit]

Wyred4sound make a stunning wee microDAC - which is superior in performance to either the Cambridge audio DAC magic or the firestone spitfire in my opinion. $399 USD, the distributor is deephz audio in Australia, who ship direct to NZ. I would expect to be paying around $550 incl delivery from them at present. ......

Will you be charged by the custom?

[neil]

More than likely yes. Factor in 15% for GST and maybe 5% for duty as well...

[Michael Wong]

Best find a local seller who will let you try before you buy.

Haven't heard the XA333ES but the XA20ES is a pretty good player in standard form (like a junior XA7ES) that would require a very good external DAC to make any improvement.

[kaka]

Wyred4sound make a stunning wee microDAC - which is superior in performance to either the Cambridge audio DAC magic or the firestone spitfire in my opinion. $399 USD, the distributor is deephz audio in Australia, who ship direct to NZ. I would expect to be paying around $550 incl delivery from them at present.

Astonishing how things have progressed - the Microdac is 24/192 async USB. Think what you would have paid for a transporter 3 years back to play material of that resolution, and the Sabre ESS dac chipset in the microdac is probably better.

[too_tall]

Will you be charged by the custom?

To the best of my knowledge, no.

I know 3 people who have bought more expensive W4S DAC's and none have had any unexpected costs incurred. I believe that the distributor factor those costs in when they quote, as their quotes are "to your door"

[webbed]

Audio GD NFB 3.1.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/NFB3-2011/NFB3.1EN.htm

[pocoloco]

peachtree DACiT or Musical Fidelity V-DAC MK II

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-42656-peachtree-dacit.aspx for blowing your budget

or

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-53340-musical-fidelity-v-dac-mk-ii-digital-converter.aspx for blowing your budget a little bit :p

[curious_george]

Schiit Bifrost should be worth considering, http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=7

Designer is Mike Moffat who was responsible for Theta.

[webbed]

The Schiit sounds like a good recommendation. Cheers.