Forgot to mention I will be using it now as the main source to the speakers Amp, the headphone socket will just be an added bonus now as and when I need to use them.
Well after a bit of consideration I am going for the Beresford Caiman Dac.
http://www.beresford.me/PP/Caiman__DAC.html Thanks for all your input
Thanks Adam
Your Phono Din welcome Rich ...good choice...I must get myself one too.
How does it sound? ... I hope you really notice the difference when you realise your listening to much more than before, simply because its so much easier for your brain to enjoy.
Dont know what it sounds like as it will be my purchase probably in the middle of next Month, will be sure to let you know though. 
Well it is still on for the purchase of the Caiman Gatorized Dac But! I just looked at a thread on another forum where someone asked a question. He mentioned that. " The Dac is mainly going to be fed FLAC and 320 MP3 via PC which currently has an Asus D2X soundcard doing the feeding. "
Well it is 03.00am and I have just got up
The reply he got from someone was. " Both the Caimen and rDac (you wouldn't need the soundcard for this, the rDacs USB is its best input) are good buys. "
My question is, how do you get the sound from the PC to output via USB :shrug: When the reply says you dont need a soundcard, I guess there is a setting within Windows somewhere or within the onboard sound chip config?
Aoplogies if this is a dumb question
Which operating system are you running?
Edit:
I've found this which is based on Windows XP which may be a little old now but I imagine it won't have changed too much. It may be the case that only when a USB audio device is connected does the option to output to it appear. I think that's the best guidance I can give you, hopefully someone more familiar with the current Windows OSs will be of more use
As I understand it, (which means I don't understand it) but its worked automatically for both DaCs Ive tried and use,
The DaC itself has the software within it to find the media streams within your PC when you connect it via USB ..I don't think the windows type matters that much, just a guess through.
Occasionally I find my DaC has a hissy and doesn't work straight off, but usually I'll unplug and re-plug (with all music software closed) and it grabs the right bit the second attempt. (I can then open my software again and all the music goes down to the DaC to be transformed into analogue.
Ring a supplier of the Beresford and ask them to confirm it all.
Yeh I will double check that when I order it but I thinks you are right.
Well it seems ages ago I started this thread but I have finaly purchased the http://www.homehifi.co.uk/products/TC-7520SEG.html Hooking it all up was simplicity and I think I certainly made a good choice as far as my budget would stretch too. Overall soundstage has really improved. After speaking to Stan Berseford he recommended that for the files I play ( mostly Flac ) via the PC, I should use Media Monkey. I did try it but convinced that Winamp is outputting a slightly better sound. Not sure if it will make a difference but have just installed this plugin http://www.winamp.com/plugin/stereo-tool-6-00/221526 I have yet to have a play around with the configs on that but will do shortly. Does anyone else have any player suggestions? I also rate Foobar 2000 for sound but seems a little less user friendly regards to choosing title, album, genre etc. Perhaps I have missed something as all I can get it to show is all the tracks in one window
Ooh the all new and improved version, hmmnice. congrats ...its about bloody time.
Interesting snippets, does Stan say players are that important then? I use the basic stuff provided, so no ideas otherwise.
Ive been on Last Fm radio all morning banging out music cos my neighbours are out ..sign up its brill.
I always used winamp in the past Adam which I thought was pretty good but as I say imo Media Monkey is quite an improvement, it can be configured enormously as far as output is concerned and it also has shoutcast radio which I am a fan of. Well I am off to play about with some buttons and sliders 
OMG! its has more controls than NASA. lol here's guessing that the most commonly used button will be the default!
But then again Im a purist... unadulterated as the artist intended kinda BS.
Yes that's it ...Ive been trying to tell you that for a few pages now.
I'll take a gander at upgrading my media player ..although Im not convinced because of the reasons above. But then Im probably trying to fit digi into my analogue thinking and its probably far more complexed.
You are right Adam tis on default but there are some clear and easy tutorials on how to tweak it. " Yes that's it ...Ive been trying to tell you that for a few pages now " Fast learner aint I 
hehe. I still play records..............
...A man of taste obviously. im all for sound quality (i just spent more money than i thought i would for my portable kit) but i have to wonder, is it really worth spending huge amounts of money on what is essentially a good quality USB soundcard? why not just get a good quality PCI card for a lot less money? that after all is also a DAC
The reason is supposedly down to stuff like noise interference, smooth power supply and other isolation pluses that one gets from external boxes ... I tuned transcription turntables years ago ( yes it was, a great job )and within that industry I soon learned that clean is better. Better sound quality makes for easier listening I learnt, the brain enjoys and relaxes to good sound quality compared to having to strain and interpret to enjoy the lesser quality outputs.
This quite simply interprets into higher volumes, with less noise, so it actually invades less into conversation. or even the neighbours. It will have higher clarity, produce more brain uplifting response, adding greater enjoyment for more of the time, all because its less work mentally.
Possibly.
neil_g said:thing is "audiophiles" and their cash are easily separated, often lots of it for smoke and mirrors
thing is "audiophiles" and their cash are easily separated, often lots of it for smoke and mirrors
A trait audiophiles and photographers share!
Isnt that the way I read something yesterday " Thieves wont pinch your CD`s cos they aint worth anything " And I reckon they may be right. Who wants to use 16bit pieces of plastic nowadays:shrug: when you can get much more higher quality audio off of the net. I also read that there was a site where you could buy studio mastered albums for about £3.00 and they will put them on a hard drive for you and send it to you. Ipods, music files, media centres, music servers, there are becoming more and more products on the market to wet our appetites. People comment on being an audiophile as such but are not all of us in a way :shrug: I enjoy my music of all genre and I just want to listen to it the best way I can afford, much like anything else really. Yes Neil the Dac made a big difference imo, my kit in comparison with even mid range stuff is quite modest, but it suits my room and my hearing. If you can get to one of the Sound & Vision exhibitions in the UK it is well worth it. Usualy held in a hotel so there are a lots of Trade stands and demos. Hi/Fi, Projectors, TV`s, computers and servers etc. It will make you drool I assure you
