DACs play an important role in the digital playback chain and every smart device that you might own and use for music playback utilizes one.Ī DAC converts a digital signal into an analog one (a smart device still utilizes an amplifier on the other end of the DAC – which is rather impressive considering the lack of physical space inside a smart phone or headphone ear cup) and that signal can be fed to a pair of active loudspeakers, or an amplifier on the other end.ĭesktop audio or home audio systems often include a laptop or dedicated digital streamer as their primary digital source. $3,500 buys you a Porsche in the DAC world in 2021 and that’s just a fact.Ĭonsumers love digital streaming and its percentage of the market is on track to hit 90% by the end of Q3 2022. That’s not to say that you can’t get state-of-the-art playback from a unit that sells for a stratospheric amount of money but we can’t understand spending that much when the technology changes so rapidly and the sound quality of what is available for below $3,000 is so good. I don’t think you can go wrong either way, but at $400 for either the Element or the Asgard/Modius stack, I would recommend the latter for the reasons mentioned above.Do you listen to Spotify, TIDAL, Qobuz, or Apple Music? Has digital streaming become your primary way of listening to music at home with the family in the living room or in your home office? Contrary to any nonsense you might have read online, you don’t have to sell off one of your kids for the best DACs anymore. My favorite combination is the Modius feeding the Asgard, which sounds better while also providing more input options. I wouldn’t recommend the Schiit DAC card, which far underperforms the amp. I like the fact that the power supply is built in and the volume pot and headphone jack are nicer than those on the Element. The Asgard is also a very competent amp, more powerful than the Element and, to my ear, a little smoother and warmer. My only complaints are the fact that the large knob is attached to a small volume pot so it wobbles, and the finish is highly susceptible to fingerprints and scratches. It’s basically an Atom amp in a much nicer box combined with a pretty good performing DAC. The Element sounds great, neutral and clean. I have an Element II, an Asgard 3 with the 4490 DAC card, and a Modius. That being said, it probably doesn’t really help you choose but I felt like sharing anyway. Schiit B products discounted only by 3% felt ridiculous for me They basically encouraged anyone who doesn’t need the SPDIF to buy the cheaper option (Element II) cause everything else is the same JDS Labs was very honest about Element II vs El Dac II + El Amp II. I felt Schiit was extremely well marketed and designed, but reviews about sound quality were not as unanimous as Element II or Atom I chatted with them and they seemed to care about me and took time to give advice JDS Labs customer support is known to be excellent. The element II knob and form factor was a big factor in my decision JDS Labs have a distributor in Canada, Schiit doesn’t (and doesn‘t seem to care about the crazy high duties, taxes and fees we get r*ped with) Here’s what made me choose Element over Asgard : I was pretty much set on Asgard before finally landing Element II.
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