External DAC Info

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tauriqd

New member
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
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Location
Cape Town, Western Cape
Hi there,

First post so please cut me some slack if my post is a not appropriate.

I've started my Budget Audiophile journey and have been bit by the bug so to speak. That being said as someone that loves objectively optimising their hobbies there's a lot of seemingly high-level info in the audio world with contradicting opinions. e.g. "Do {insert audio component} even really make a difference?"

My current setup :
Used Bentley Acoustic FS120's (thanks for the recommends on this forum, did a lot of lurking to sus these out)
Fosi Audio V3
Edifier T5 Active Sub (from my old edifier setup)
Mibox S for streaming audio
Tidal Premium for lossless audio
Denson El-Cheap Mixer for Phono outputs
JVC Vintage Turntable

Question :
I'm currently using the 3.5mm out from the dual TOSLINK / 3.5mm output on the Mibox S.

I don't have any pertinent issues but I can't help but be swayed by the notion it's a weak link not using some sort of external DAC to convert the signal. I have no plans to move to 5.1 anytime soon otherwise I would just go with a Denon receiver or something similar.

Is there real value in going for a cheap external DAC, or something "budget" like the SMSL SU-1 I've seen on Amazon or am I better off saving for a better phono preamp or TT or something else in the chain?
 
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