needs advice

[thermalbat]

Hello everybody-this is my first post and already I have a question!

 

I am on a tight budget and plan on buying a pair of Audioengine A-2's for my pc.

I've narrowed down my choice of Dac's to just two- the Scott Nixon USB-UFO-tube buffer(with the optional

power supply and the Cayin iDAC Tube DAC with USB. They are both in the $700.00 to $800.00 range,

which is about all I want to spend. Has anyone out there heard both of these or have an opinion on

which would sound better with the A-2's?

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

The Scott Nixon stuff has eluded me forever. I don't know anyone who has heard one and good info is hard to find.

 

I'll assume you've read SGB's great review of the Cayin HERE.

 

The A2 speakers are great. Did you read my review of them? I highly recommend them. For $200 you can't lose.

 

[sgbaird]

I emailed him about 10 weeks ago to express interest in ordering one of his DACs, but never heard back from him. The funny thing about this is that he and I had a mutual friend for more than 30 years, & I had gotten an email reply from Scott about our friend just before Christmas. Since he never got back to me I had to look for something else in my price range, so I took a chance on the Cayin (being retired and living off a fixed income does have its disadvantages... especially if you're an audiophile). IMO it's worth every penny.

 

[thermalbat]

Thanks for the advice guys-I went ahead and ordered the Cayin iDac and the

Audioengine A-2's. I do have a question for SGB though-I read your excellent review

but I don't believe you mentioned which analog output you were using. It appears, although I may be wrong,

from the specs I have read that only Analog out 1 uses the tubes.

 

[brock]

My first post! I know this discussion is old by now, but I picked up a new iDac today (for $250 - I know it isn't a new product anymore, but I felt lucky to find such a deal) and will hook it up to my Audioengine A2s. I'm also wondering about which output to use.

 

I suppose I'll try them both and see what happens, but any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm new to the audiophile world and still struggling to learn all the vocabulary.