Low end DAC $150 or less with Klipsch Promedia 2.1

[acmeseed]

Hello,

 

 

I am new here, I found the forum while searching for computer audio information; pardon me jumping-in with a question from the get go.

 

 

I have a Dell desktop computer and would like to improve the quality of the sound I get while playing music. I just bought a set of klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers which are an improvement from the previous speakers I was using.

 

 

I do not need to use headphones at this computer, all I would do is play music through the speakers; my music library is mostly in FLAC format and some MP3s.

 

 

From everything I read it sounds like a DAC would be a better choice than an internal sound card (my computer has PCI Express ports).

 

The speaker manual says to use a Line In input as it would provide better quality audio than the speaker/headphone output.

 

I looked at the Cambridge DacMagic, it sounds like it would provide good sound quality, but I wonder if there is a better choice, I do not need the portability to use it with a laptop.

 

I would greatly appreciate any feedback you can provide, I work in the IT field and I am also a part time musician, but when it comes to computer audio I am totally green.

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

Mike.

[wgscott]

Dragonfly DAC: $150

[beanbag]

hifimediy sabre dac USB input $46

Schitt Modi USB or optical input $100

ODAC usb input $150

Fiio D3 optical / coax input $30

 

All of these rate well on head-fi, a headphone site where people are super picky about sound quality.

[acmeseed]

Dragonfly DAC: $150

 

Thanks, I ordered a DragonFly from Amazon and I love it, the improvement in sound quality is amazing.

 

I'm having a problem getting sound out of the Internet browsers, but I have not had the time to work it out.

 

Thanks again for your recomendation.