The Best DACs Under $500

We are going to start by undermining this page’s own premise, because the numbers demand it.

The Topping E30 II publishes THD+N of less than 0.00015% and a signal-to-noise ratio of 123 dB. The SMSL SU-1, which costs about half as much, publishes 0.00013% and 121 dB. For context, a 16-bit CD has a theoretical dynamic range of about 96 dB, and the best microphones and rooms in the world do not reach 123 dB of noise floor.

Every DAC on this page is, on its published measurements, more transparent than any recording you will play through it. The differences between them are real but they are almost certainly below the noise floor of your room, and we are not going to pretend otherwise in order to make the page more exciting.

So what should actually decide this?

Sockets and features. Which is not a cop-out — it is the honest answer, and it is a decision you can actually get wrong.

• Do you need a headphone amplifier? The FiiO K7 and K11 and the iFi ZEN DAC 3 have one. The Schiit Modi 5, Topping E30 II, SMSL SU-1 and Topping D10s do not. This is the biggest fork on the page, and it decides more of your money than any measurement.
• What are you plugging in? The iFi ZEN DAC 3 has USB only. If you wanted to connect a TV by optical, it cannot. The Modi 5, E30 II and SU-1 all take USB, optical and coaxial.
• Do you need it to feed a power amp directly? The E30 II, K7, K11 and ZEN DAC 3 all have a preamp/variable output mode. The Modi 5 and SU-1 are fixed-output — they need something with a volume control after them.

Why the FiiO K7 wins

Because the headphone amplifier is not a token. FiiO publishes ≥ 1,220 mW + 1,220 mW into 32 Ω from the 6.35 mm output and ≥ 2,000 mW + 2,000 mW from the 4.4 mm balanced output, at THD+N below 1%, using THX AAA 788+ amplifier modules. It also publishes ≥ 140 mW into 300 Ω, which is the figure that matters for high-impedance headphones.

On top of that it has line in, optical, coaxial and USB, a line out, and a three-way switch between headphone, preamp and pure DAC modes. It is the most complete box here and it is not the most expensive.

If you never use headphones, none of that is worth paying for, and the Topping E30 II or Schiit Modi 5 does the DAC job for less in a smaller box.

The one with a genuinely distinct trick

The Topping D10s is ranked low as a DAC and is the right answer for one specific problem: it has optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs as well as a line out. That makes it a USB-to-S/PDIF bridge, which is what rescues an older receiver or integrated amplifier that has digital inputs but no USB.

If you have that problem, nothing else on this page solves it. If you do not, the SU-1 costs less and does the DAC job just as well.

What Schiit will not tell you, and what that is worth

Schiit publishes THD+N, signal-to-noise, output voltage and inputs for the Modi 5 — but no DSD figure appears anywhere in their spec list, and they do not publish a preamp mode. If DSD playback matters to you, Topping publishes DSD64–DSD512 native for the E30 II and iFi publishes DSD512 for the ZEN DAC 3.

One useful detail Schiit does publish: the Modi 5 outputs 1.5 V RMS on USB power but 2.0 V RMS with the external supply. That is a real difference if you are feeding a power amplifier directly, and the sort of thing most makers leave you to discover.

What we would pair them with

A DAC needs something after it. If you have an integrated amplifier, note that several already contain a DAC — the Yamaha A-S301, Denon PMA-600NE and Marantz PM6007 all publish optical and coaxial inputs, so buying a separate DAC means buying a second one. If you have powered speakers, a DAC with a preamp mode can feed them directly and you need no amplifier at all.

And if you are not certain what a DAC actually changes, read what a DAC does before you spend anything. It is a shorter page than this one and it may save you the purchase.