6 Best DACs Under $1000 in 2024

Affordable and high-quality DACs under $1000

Every device that delivers digital sound needs a special converter, DAC, to transform audio into an analog signal before outputting it. It means that a DAC is an integral part of audio equipment. The market offers a variety of DACs with different specifications for any budget. Today, it is not a problem to find a cheap USB DAC for a laptop, or an expensive sophisticated one for your home audio system, or even a combination of these two. This article aims to help you to select the best DAC under 1000 dollars, and we already have prepared the list of the most decent options.

A high-quality DAC guarantees an irreproachable audio performance, allowing you to enjoy the whole range of fine and accurate sound details. The quality of the DAC greatly defines the overall quality of conversion. It is not necessary to be a professional musician or audio technician to select a proper DAC that can ensure a better quality of the playback. Take advantage of the article below to choose the best DAC under 1000 dollars.

Inputs: HDMI, TOSLINK, COAX, RCA | Outputs: HDMI, RCA | Bluetooth: Yes | Max sample rate support: 24bit/192kHz

The Marantz NR1200 AV Receiver combines state-of-the-art digital audio components with state-of-the-art wireless technology to give you a complete home entertainment solution. With built-in Bluetooth technology, the receiver offers total control over your home theater system with ease. For example, you can connect up to five Bluetooth devices for TV, DVD player, PVR, cable box, and so on.

In addition, the built-in multi-line input and output configuration of the Marantz NR 1200 AV receiver lets you connect the receiver to more than one source including your television, DVD/VCD, audio and video monitor. If you are looking for a high quality home theater system, the Marantz NR 1200 AV receiver with Bluetooth is a good choice.

Inputs: USB, BT, OPT, COAX, IIS, AES | Outputs: XLR, RCA | Bluetooth: Yes | Max sample rate support: 32bit/768kHz

Perfectly clear sound and amazing clarity are the features that make Topping DX7 Pro an all-time best buy in the market. With an optimized bandwidth and a high decibel emission, it lets you enjoy the most amazing quality video and sound from any source, with a simple installation and easy set up. In addition, the Topping DX7 Pro offers the best quality picture and sound resolution and also has the advantage of having no subwoofer required, which is great for people who have big entertainment centers at home or in the office.

This receiver can transmit signals clearly and flawlessly through a DVD or Blu-ray player, game consoles, TV, and even video game consoles. There are no expensive studio monitors needed, and no costly AV cables to connect or nothing to hook up just simply plug it into your TV and watch your favorite videos, your favorite music, and your favorite audio tracks in crystal clear detail.

Inputs: AES / EBU, SPDIF, Toslink, USB, I2S | Outputs: XLR, RCA | Bluetooth: Yes | Max sample rate support: 32Bit/768KHz

If you enjoy music from vinyl, or any other type of high-resolution audio files, then you will absolutely love the Topping D70 DAC. It has a large audio input selection, which allows you to send an uncompressed 16-track sample file or loss-less file as an analog signal. If you are using this unit in your home theater system, then you will definitely want to check out the surround sound feature, which is one of the reasons this product is so popular.

One other great thing about the Topping D70 is the fact that it includes a discrete digital noise gate that produces high quality audio with a minimum amount of digital distortion. If you are looking for a device with exceptional performance at a sensible price, then the Topping D70 is the perfect choice for you.

Inputs: USB, COAX, TOSLINK | Outputs: RCA, XLR | Bluetooth: Yes | Max sample rate support: 32Bit/768kHz

The S.M.S.L M400 AV receiver is one of the best AV receivers available in the market for your personal entertainment. It comes with a Noise Filter that reduces all other unwanted noise such as buzzing, crackling, and static.

With its precision engineering, S.M.S.L M400 AV is capable of providing a video and audio quality that is second to none. It also has an optimized bandwidth that ensures that your media stream will never be blocked, and it has an extremely fast signal connection. The S.M.S.L M400 AV receiver is not only durable, but it is extremely robust as well. In fact, the Topping DX7 Pro AV receiver is one of the most recommended AVRs on the market today. You can enjoy the best quality of sound from all your sources in an extremely clear and crisp manner. If you want high quality sound, then this is the perfect device for you to purchase.

Inputs: IR | Outputs: S/PDIF, TOSLINK | Bluetooth: No | Max sample rate support: N/A

For a perfect and hassle-free transport of your favorite music, you can select the Cambridge Audio CXC CD Transport Player which is the top-selling CD player. It is easy to operate as the player comes with an inbuilt sigma tone control that gives you a perfect sound clarity. The built-in tuner has a precise sine wave oscillator that is used for amazing musical effects. The Audio CXC has a fantastic sound clarity, crisp bass and treble ranges.

There are a wide range of features available in the Cambridge Audio CXC CD Player such as manual/automatic volume control, treble/bass boost, lock buttons, LCD screen, true analog conversion, CD compatibility, etc. There is no problem in connecting this disc player with the help of optical and coaxial cables. If you are looking for a high-quality and easy-to-use transport player for your studio or home, the Cambridge Audio CXC CD Transport Player is an excellent choice.

It can be used as a single unit to receive all your entertainment needs or can be connected to a multi-system including an FM tuner, CD changer and DVD player.

Inputs: Line and S/PDIF or Bus | Outputs: Bus | Bluetooth: No | Max sample rate support: N/A

The Soundavo MZ-850S Digital Amplifier is great for anyone who needs a little extra power for that quick change. The main reason that we like it so much is that it is very easy to install. All that you have to do is read the directions that come with it, and you're good to go. It comes with tons of great features. It has an auto switch between the front speakers and rear channels, which means that you don't have to fiddle with anything. You can plug in your guitar, iPod, or whatever into the sound card, and it'll automatically play in that order.

Sound quality is top-notch on this unit. The price is reasonable, and it comes with tons of great features. If you want a great audio product that sounds like a high-end piece of equipment then take a look at the Soundavo MZ 850S Digital Amplifier.

The set of digital inputs depends on the DAC you have. Note that the bandwidth of TOSLINK Optical and S/PDIF is usually limited, so you should use USB for audio with the highest sample rate and bit depth. For the rest of the cases, the input you choose doesn’t have much importance.

Those, who are going to buy their first DAC, generally are looking for a device with a higher max bit depth and sample rate. But in fact, these specifications only show what maximum bit depth and sample rate the DAC can process. For example, a regular CD is 16-bit/44,1kHz. Recording studios usually record at 24-bit/96kHz (or 24-bit/192kHz) or lower. Then audio files are transformed for users to play them at a lower sample rate and bit-depth.

Don’t focus on the ability of DAC to “handle” uncompressed audio files. Better concentrate the DAC capable of converting a digital file into an analog signal, keeping a decent level of quality, accuracy, and clarity.

To make your headphones sound better, you need a special amplifier. It may be a dedicated one, although a lot of DACs offer integrated amplifiers. Using a built-in DAC/headphone amplifier is convenient; however, it doesn’t give you the flexibility of choosing a proper headphone amplifier for the DAC yourself. Note that there are lower-end DAC/headphone amplifier combos, but their power is not enough to drive high impedance. Such low output power amps may turn out useless.

A small size of a DAC allows to put it into a small chassis easily, without any compromise. This is the reason why the best surrounding D/A converters are small. Nevertheless, larger devices can offer you better connectivity and the possibility to use powerful headphone amplifiers.