I need a headphone DAC that wont break the budget

[FrEaKy]

I have not a lot of mooooolah, but I want to increase sound performance...... whats the best budget DAC?

Using Philips SHP9500 headphones.

 

[NoXiN]

From what I've read the JDS Labs one is a good one for the money.

The Topping brand gets good reviews too. I like my DX7. you can find them on Drop often.

 

[silentcircuit]

Depends entirely on what "not breaking the bank" means to you.

There are almost always great deals over at HeadFi in their FS/FT.

 

[kydsid]

The cheapest decnt DAC is an apple iphone dongle. It is a DAC and its pretty good. A few adapters and it works with nearly anything. But really budget is needed here. One persons bank isn't anothers.

 

[Lateralus]

Agreed, we need to know what we're working with here. Then we can start with the recommendations.

You should be able to get something decent for sure - loads of competing products in the <$100 segment to help music lovers on a budget.

 

[legcramp]

SMSL DL200 DAC/Headphone Amp. ~$190. Done.

 

[FrEaKy]

So my version of budget is lower class budget, like $100 or lower, haha!

 

[Lateralus]

So my version of budget is lower class budget, like $100 or lower, haha!

We can work with that!

NoXiN's suggestion of the JDS Atom is a really solid one at just a hair over your budget (might be able to find for less on eBay, forums, etc. but that could of course apply to numerous DACs above $100 haha).

SMSL is known for providing a lot of bang for your buck, and may have something for you. I will also leave this here in case you wanted a small boi instead of a desktop unit:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gbpkioIBPo

 

[Darunion]

(might be able to find for less on eBay, forums, etc. but that could of course apply to numerous DACs above $100 haha).

This!

Because sound is so subjective you will often find tons of great condition audio equipment on ebay or other secondhand sources. People buy it, dont care for it and just turn around and sell it used if they cant return it.

This can really help score some better quality stuff with less money lost.