I'm after a good, small stereo amp/DAC


Hi there, I've haunted these forums for years, hoping someone can help me out with a lower-end choice here...

I'm after a compact sized stereo amplifier. It will have a pro-ject turntable plugged into it via stereo RCA (already pre-amped) and an Apple Airport express plugged in via an optical input, doesn't matter if it's a toslink or a 3.5mm plug, I'll get whatever cable I need. Ideally it would have two sets of analogue inputs so that if I have some other device at any point I'm not screwed. It's either got to have a really good DAC for the airport express, or it has to be cheap, and I'll buy a tiny standalone DAC. I've been using a JVC 5.1 amp/receiver for a while now and it's about double the size that I want and contains all kinds of features I don't want. I don't want to venture into the world of serious business hifi, I would just like something that sounds good, looks good, does the job, doesn't cost me more than $500. It will be powering these speakers: http://uk.jbl.com/jbl-product-detail-uk/es10bk.html

Thanks for reading
nwatts88

Showing 1 response by br3098

It's going to be difficult to find a good, small,amp w/ DAC for under $500, but not impossible. At this budget I would recommend that you look at a used first generation Peachtree Decco. While it's not as powerful or as refined as the later Nova amp, some folks (like me) prefer the Scott Nixon-designed DAC to the ESS Sabre DAC used on the Nova and later generation products.

If you are looking for a new unit, I would recommend the Nuforce DDA-100 integrated amp. While technically this unit does not include a DAC, the clever PowerDAC design accomplishes much the same thing (but in a different way). I purchased one of these units for one of my daughters to use in her space-constrained studio apt, and she is quite happy with it.

I think that either one of these amps should work well with the JBL speakers that you indicated, although I have not seen or heard this specific model.