Anyone have experience with both Pico and D10 DACs?

[The Expanding Man]

I'm looking to upgrade my office set up from an aging bithead.

I live in a remote location, and my chances of auditioning either the Pico or D10 are nonexistent.

In terms of pricing, a D10 is roughly equivalent to the Pico DAC only. The Pico DAC is an option, as I have a mini^3 I could use. On paper, the D10 is the better deal, as it comes with an amp and line out along with optical and coax inputs. It will be a lot less faffing around, and will be more portable with the built in amp stage.

I've read one review that gives the edge to the Pico DAC if you are using usb, but rates the D10 as slightly better using an optical input.

I will mainly use the usb input.

At present, cans used in the office will be HD590 and ety e4p.

So, is the D10 the better option as it comes with the amp stage, or does it totally blow, compared to the Pico DAC?

I know a lot of you hate these kinds of threads, but I have no ability to audition.

[grawk]

I'd hope the d10 is a LOT better than the pico using an optical input, as the pico doesn't make noise when using an optical input.

That said, I haven't heard the D10, and have heard the pico. The pico dac is an amazing little source, and I'd recommend it whole heartedly to someone who needs a small usb dac. That's what it is, and it's really very good at it. If you need somethign to be an optical or coax dac, or something to be a preamp or headphone amp, it's not the right device. If you don't need anything but a usb dac, you'll be really hard pressed to beat it for the price, or a lot higher.

[The Expanding Man]

I'd hope the d10 is a LOT better than the pico using an optical input, as the pico doesn't make noise when using an optical input.

That said, I haven't heard the D10, and have heard the pico. The pico dac is an amazing little source, and I'd recommend it whole heartedly to someone who needs a small usb dac. That's what it is, and it's really very good at it. If you need somethign to be an optical or coax dac, or something to be a preamp or headphone amp, it's not the right device. If you don't need anything but a usb dac, you'll be really hard pressed to beat it for the price, or a lot higher.

Yes, I meant that the reviewer concluded that using the optical input to the D10 DAC was slightly superior to using the USB input of the Pico DAC, but the Pico was slightly superior to using the USB input to the D10 DAC.

I'm interested to hear some other, less fotm, opinions.

[feckn_eejit]

The Expanding Man......... as in "this is the day of"?

[The Expanding Man]

The Expanding Man......... as in "this is the day of"?

Yes, I relate to that song in an over-weight, middle aged loser kind of way.