HRT Streamer is powered via the USB port of your pc/laptop. Obviously would result in faster drain of the laptop battery, but I can't imagine it would be significant in comparison to the HDD or display.
Netbook to USB DAC to Headphone Amp on Batteries
Are there any good DACs that I can use with a laptop or netbook, which are either USB powered, battery powered, or rechargeable for at least a few hours?
I am very happy with my Lenovo netbook for traveling, and have a spare 6 cell battery which means I can work and/or listen to music for most of the flight to London.
My Grado headphone amp travels easily and runs for hours on 9 volt batteries.
So all I need now is a good DAC?
Would the HRT Streamer or Musical Fidelity VDAC work this way?
Thanks for any ideas.
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- 13 posts total
For bang for the buck and maximum portability, I like my iBasso D4 Mamba. It has a very good portable headphone amp, and the USB DAC converts straight to I2S rather than going to SPDIF in between. The DAC sounds quite good. It runs on a 9 volt for about 9 hours, or via USB if you have access to your laptop or desktop. About $240 with shipping to the States from iBasso. Plenty of alternatives as well. Check over at HeadFi.org for more input on this subject. Other favorites there that combine a DAC and amp in one would be iQube which is a bit more expensive here in the U.S., or if you are really going for serious quality in a semi-portable (this one's kind of large) look at the Lisa III by Triad Audio. I just saved you a whole lot of reading over at Headfi. Two others you'll see come up often are Meier Corda amps, as well as Ray Samuels amps. You can throw all kinds of money at this. If you just want to add a standalone DAC to your Grado amp (adding one more little box to your cluster) check out the Pico DAC, which I think also goes straight to I2S. PS Whoops, sorry, the Lisa III does not include a DAC, it is just a (highly regarded) headphone amp. |
Thanks for ideas so far.... Swampwalker, have you listened to the music streamer? Re one box vs. two, I don't mind an extra box, cables and a bit of weight, but would want the performance to justify it. I have both the Grado headphone amp and a somewhat vintage, supposedly state of the art at the time amp from the guys at Headroom - the "Cosmic" I think. Hence, my search for a high quality portable DAC to use with either of these devices. If either the Grado or Cosmic amp, or any of the separate box DACs are nothing to write home about, then sure - I could sell the Grado amp and just buy one of the all in one box solutions - there seems to be quite a few. Within reason however (with respect to weight and/or cost), my priority is performance, not low cost or convenience. |
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