Bargain Basement, Giant Killing DACs for PC Audio

The closest I've heard to giant killer in my travels is the MHDT Paradisea. At around 400 bucks used it's putting out some pretty good sound for the dollars. I personally sold off my Wavelength Cosecant after getting one. There is better sound of course out there but it hits pretty hard for around 400 on the used market.

Here's a link to information about the Aune Mini SE. Like Pdspecl, I bought the SE version with upgraded internal parts. The shipping from Hong Kong took about seven days after purchasing on ebay.

A consideration for some people might be that the Aune does not have an optical input, which means you're out of luck if you wanted to use it with an Airport Express. It has USB and coax digital inputs, as well as analog inputs in case you want to use it as a preamp rather than as a DAC.

I've been extremely happy with the sound of it using the USB output of an iMac, then to a Jolida FX-10 tube integrated and a pair of JohnBlue JB3 single driver speakers.

As an aside, I notice that a lot of these bargain basement USB DACs seem to also have headphone amplifiers?

Is this because they assume that a significant percentage of people using these USB DACs will want to use headphones?

As I go out of my way to not listen to headphones unless I am on an airplane or in the gym, its a bit like getting a DAC with a toaster oven to me.

Why don't USB DACs have a simple attenuator instead?

Then, I could use my bargain basement USB DAC with active monitors or just a power amp.

In the giant killer rankings, I also wonder why now getting pretty old Levinson DACs still sell for a few thousand bucks.

So let's hear more recommendations.

Cwlondon - it's possible I don't understand the functionality you're looking for but I think the Beresford TC-7520 does exactly that, as does the Nuforce uDAC.

Both have USB input and variable analog output controlled by a front panel knob that you can connect directly to a power amp or active speakers.

At $225, The Grant Fidelity TubeDAC-09 may be one of the best deals in audio today. It won't beat a $1000+ DAC, but I'd put it up against most any $500 CDP. Takes coax, USB, optical, and analog inputs and has a headphone amp to boot.