A little better than some DACs stock cables but still gives you ...
923994
You got what you paid for. A little better than some DACs stock cables but still gives you the grainy highs that all the cheap USB cables typically have.
3722289
I bought this DAC to replace my soundcard & mic pre amp.
I cant believe everything is USB powered. as a result, gain is a little weak but sufficient.
both DAC and ADC sounds great and no latency issue on Windows 7, Adobe A3

Con: powers off in sleep mode and doesnt turn back on with computer
3703166
Don't be fooled by the low price of this DAC.  This DAC produces high quality music. It could cost 3 times more if it is made by a famous audio company.  Give a try.
3662198
This is a discontinued Item..
You should be able to find a used one for about $40.

This won't compare with a more expensive DAC (I also have a Musical Fidelity).However, this Fostex will certainly be much better than going out of the headphone output on your computer into your computer speakers.

For the price, this is a no brainer. If your want a cheap but significant upgrade to your computer audio system, get one of these
2526654
If you are plugging your computer into larger jacks you will get better sound. I have tested this.
3024691
This is a great DAC for the price that is basically plug and play (at least on Mac). The box is a sturdy metal construction and the sound and built quality seems not worse than DAcs costing 5 times as much.

My only complaint (and it's a fairly small one), is that ever time the bitrate changes with what you are playing, there is an audible click inside the box (not through the audio output). I do a lot of video editing in Final Cut Pro and it seems like this DAC is constantly clicking each time I start and stop a clip. It's a bit annoying, but I'm getting used to it.

UPDATE: I switched to the USB input and all the clicks went away. It seems to sound better too.
4814437
My first experience with an outboard DAC -- using it to make the digital to analog jump from the TOSlink output of an Internet radio tuner into my amp -- so far so good -- like the results.  DACs can cost from pennies to thousands so it seems, anyway.  This was a good choice for me rather than the alternative at 4x cost.
746568
This is a decent DAC with multiple digital inputs. Build quality is very good with a hefty case for its size. Driver installation CD is provided but was hit and miss as far as it being usable. At the end, I did manage to get it installed and working both as a Windows Sound device and WASAPI. I performed a set of measurements on it and it lost out to the cheaper Behringer UMC-204HD but outperformed others. See my detailed review at ASR Forum.
2597247
The connection between the cable and my headphones isn't the greatest, as long as you are sitting down and aren't moving around the connection isn't bad. If your moving around and trying to do stuff with it then I suggest you look for another cable, but I'm just using it so I don't disturb my neighbors at night. If you are hooking them up to some high end headphones you are going to loose some quality. You can play around with the settings and it will make them sound better, but its not the same but for under 5 bucks its a good solution to my problems. The 25 feet of extra cord is nice I don't have to position myself so that I can keep my headphones plugged into my surround system and lay down on my couch. I didn't expect much from these, but they do enough to get the job done.
3302875
I have both HD-DAC1 and DA-300USB on my desk side by side, running the same USB cable (audioquest coffee 0.75m USB), with HD650 headphone.

after testing it for 2 days, HD-DAC1 is a better amp, not to say DA-300USB is bad, DAC1 is $799 and 300USB is $499, 300USB is a very capable amp just a different of feel, it's more quiet and dead silent compare to DAC1. DA-300USB is not too far behind HD-DAC1, it's just a matter of taste, I love both amp is inter-change the 2.

DA-300USB is less power then DAC1, but it is an excellent amp, it's more quiet then DAC1

I had tested couple more DAC Matrix M-stage, Teac AI-501, NuForce HA200, Beyerdynamic A20, Asgard 2, Objective 2 by JDSLabs.

These 2 is what I would recommend if using a high quality USB cable (audioquest)

The cheap Matrix M-stage is a little on par with DAC1 given it's only $250, but the quality may not be the same as it's generic brand from China.  If you are short on cash, Matrix m-stage is alternative choice.
1016964
Never used a DAC but so far it makes the sound coming out of my pca lot clearer and sharper than just plugging straight into the onboard sound card. Drivers work on windows 10 although on the latest update the software stopped working but a simple reinstall and restart everything was back to working again. I use this to connect straight from my PC or also to use the output into my sound mixer to listen to other sources of sound. Glad I made this purchase and worth every dollar.
2974336
As everyone else has said, these cables are great; when you consider the price, they are phenomenal.  Is the tone demonstrably better with these vs. the stock cables that came with my amp head and speakers?  Actually yes... The first time you "hear" your cabs with these, yes there are very nice (albeit subtle) tonal differences.  There seems to be a little more reach in the highs and lows coming out of the amp.  Very happy.

Update:  we've ordered three of these so far; great cables.
2513570
This is not an audiophile headphone amp.  It's a very competitively priced headphone amp that lets you listen to as many as four headphones at once.  That's pretty cool.  But the output power is not that high.  It's high enough for low-impedence headphones.  For the high-impedence monsters, it may be too little.  I don't have a single headphone it can't power - from Grados, to Beyerdynamics to the LCD-X or the HD800.  But it doesn't do anything special.  It's not a DAC.  It's just a straight-up amp.  It doesn't really enhance the sound so much as make it possible for the headphone to get enough power.  On most headphones, that will not be an issue, but if you're expecting a big performance boost, you may be in for a disappointment.  I like the price, the balance adjustments, and the count-'em-four outputs.  You can individually adjust each headphone.  This amp comes in handy for adjusting/setting sound levels to compensate for different sensitivies in individual headphones.  If you're a headphone nerd, you can literally run and swap cans back and forth without losing a beat.  Just don't expect any kind of boost in sound quality.  The headphones play louder.  That's it.
2849951
I have to say that this cable is amazing compared to stock cable and some so called hi end starter cables. If this cable had the name Monster in front of it, it would cost 40 dollars. This cable is thick, offers amazing shielding, and is a much improvement over stock. I bought this cable to connect my Bose Solo 15 to my TV, I was using the stock cable that came with the speaker. I live in NYC where there is much interference due to the trains and taxi cabs. Once I bought this cable and changed  out the stock cord it was a major difference. The bass improved and there was silence when I raised the volume all the way. What do I mean by that? Connect your stock cable and raise the volume all the way and listen, if you can hear noise, light static and a light hiss sound, that's the problem with stock cables with lack of or no shielding at all. Which can damage you product, now change out the stock and place this cable and raise the volume all the way. And you will notice the difference right away.

Great cable, if you are using this to connect to your TV, believe me you don't have to spend more than what this cable cost because you are getting a great cable for a great price.
4532399
I'm trying to clean up the sound to my bass amp so I've been replacing every cord and using a power conditioner. This is definitely better than the stock power cable the amp came with (18AWG) and feels solid, but it didn't noticeably improve the sound or incoming power wattage into the power conditioner. The search for a solution continues...
384776
I know sound quality can be discussed like forever as it can be subjective.
Here is how I tested this with Audio Technica ATH-M50 and Sennheiser PX-80 (Yes!!)
1) Tried on my PC which has Azus H-87 Pro motherboard (Realtek audio). Upon several A/B tests, it became obvious my PC had slightly better sound than this DAC. The sound was tad more smooth yet transparent and dynamic on my PC, with excellent imaging. The Xtempro was capable of driving the headphones to louder listening levels than my PC with bit more bass but the space between instruments seemed a bit closer than my PC. If I don't need the extra amplification, I would stick to my PC.
2) Tried on my Lenovo ultrabook laptop which too has Realtek. Though not as great sounding as my PC, it still seemed to be a bit more transparent than this DAC. Again the Xtempro was capable of driving the headphones to louder listening levels than my laptop.
3) Tried it on mobile phone Moto G5s Plus & Samsung Galazy S7. I expected Xtempro to blow it out of the water but the phones seemed to have slightly more expressive sound. ALso when used with phone there is no volume increase as that function does not work by default when connected to mobile. You will need to get the USB app from play store for it .
This DAC doesnt work on older mobile phones. Tried on a aging Samsung note 2 and Samsung Galaxy A7. Didnt work. This is not a deal breaker for me.
For the cost it does its job and provides a fairly enjoyable listen.
I also tried connecting the output from this to my music system (Musical fidelity M6i amp with Monitor Audio GS60 speakers). I had similar results like I had on my headphone.
I think the overall sound signature of this DAC is on the neutral and flat side. Amplification is good enough for my gear.
If this is exactly how Audio Quest Dragon fly sounds, I would not bother with it, esp for that cost. However for this money I don't mind rating this product 5 stars.
1741898
I own this same type of cable made by Monster, the gold plated kind. Not much difference I noticed except by price, I suppose a slight distortion on some music can be noted, if you have an ear for that. This does what it needs to at an amazing price.