REVIEW: Keces DA-151 DAC 800+ hours burn-in

[G.Kennedy]

Originally Posted by anadin

I have had the KECES DA-151 USB DAC for about 3 days now.

I have it connected up to a Little Dot Mk V, headphones are a pair of Senn Hd650's.

Unless there is a dramatic change in the bass area then I am going to have to let the KECES DA-151 go and get myself a CD player.

The bass is all over the place, really boomy not my thing at all.

It could also be that the Little Dot Mk V doesn't quite have enough power to push the Hd650's to where I want them to go, anyone else found this to be the case.

Not my experience at all ..... I would say the Keces-151 is completely neutral in my system ... It is used more in my 2ch system than with my headphone rig.

My only issue was that ... running iTunes at full volume created distortion ... in now run my iTunes output at 75% and my computer at 100% and it sounds just awesome to me.

[badmonkey]

Any reason the 151 shouldn't work perfectly with Vista 64 bit?

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by badmonkey

Any reason the 151 shouldn't work perfectly with Vista 64 bit?

It should work just perfectly, since it rely on the built-in driver of Windows, no major config needed at all. Just set volume to 100% and that's about it.

[malldian]

I would get ASIO running as well.

[wINDy]

Anyone knows the SQ difference between this and the DA-131?

[jojoarmani]

I have a laptop with a mother board with on-board audio chip/card. Not the best.

I am just wondering how the computer stops recognizing that audio chip to play your FLACs when you plug in a Keces DA-151 USB/DAC?

Wasn't sure to post here or on the Computer as source section, but i am wanting to buy a Keces so i figured here.

[TheMarchingMule]

Originally Posted by jojoarmani

I have a laptop with a mother board with on-board audio chip/card. Not the best.

I am just wondering how the computer stops recognizing that audio chip to play your FLACs when you plug in a Keces DA-151 USB/DAC?

Wasn't sure to post here or on the Computer as source section, but i am wanting to buy a Keces so i figured here.

Don't worry about how it does it. You just need to know that as soon as the KECES is switched on, then all audio from your computer is transferred from the USB cable and into your KECES.

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by jojoarmani

I have a laptop with a mother board with on-board audio chip/card. Not the best.

I am just wondering how the computer stops recognizing that audio chip to play your FLACs when you plug in a Keces DA-151 USB/DAC?

Wasn't sure to post here or on the Computer as source section, but i am wanting to buy a Keces so i figured here.

Like TheMarchingMule said, it will automatically be defaulted to DA-151 when you install it. However, if you are interested in just playing music through DA-151 and use your computer's sound card for other jobs, you can keep 151 plugged in and powered at all times (so that computer won't change you setting because it couldn't detect 151). Under windows, you can go to control panel and select which sound card to use (ie using sound card for games), and use DA-151 for dedicated music playback (setup playback program like Foobar, which allows you to select which sound device to send music to).

[jojoarmani]

Marching mule and Maniac: thanks for the answer! That's all i need to know!

Im on a job this summer, with room and board, and wont get paid until the end of the summer, so Maniac, i'll probably be in touch with you by then, if you still have units to sell :-) I am gonna combine it with a LD mk III, which seems like the best match-up so far as i can tell

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by jojoarmani

Marching mule and Maniac: thanks for the answer! That's all i need to know!

Im on a job this summer, with room and board, and wont get paid until the end of the summer, so Maniac, i'll probably be in touch with you by then, if you still have units to sell :-) I am gonna combine it with a LD mk III, which seems like the best match-up so far as i can tell

Well the best of luck to your and your job. I try to keep all stuff I carry in stock, so that I can always respond "In Stock!" confidently whenever anyone asks

[jojoarmani]

Helps me sleep at night just a it better knowing that. You're a pro! :-)

[jojoarmani]

Maniac

What would you recommend:

DA 151 or the PCM 2702? I was thinking of hooking it up with either a Meier Arietta or maybe, ld mk V?

I have ruled out using bulbs for an amp. Any recommendations for amp???

(Um, obviously, i will be hooking it up with my laptop' USB port)

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by jojoarmani

Maniac

What would you recommend:

DA 151 or the PCM 2702? I was thinking of hooking it up with either a Meier Arietta or maybe, ld mk V?

I have ruled out using bulbs for an amp. Any recommendations for amp???

(Um, obviously, i will be hooking it up with my laptop' USB port)

I have not heard either amps, I can't really recommend one over another.

[darrenlee]

Hi Maniac,

I'm fairly new to all these DAC things and need your advice on
DA 151

I'm actually using my source from pc.. (i suppose usb would be more suitable).

1) from my understanding devices using usb does take up resources in CPU.. will it affect the applications that i'm running like (flash, photoshop, dreamweaver all at the same time?)

2) i do intend to pair it up with nEar 04 (near field active speakers) and skip the amp for now. Will this be advisable?

3) sometimes i do use this to play movies and games (although most of the time it will be for music).. Will DA 151 be able to support?

4) i have a internal sound card that support S/PDIF called realtek ALC889A . Since this is an internal sound card that comes with the MB. Will that affect the sound quality if i choose the DA 131?

Thanks for your time

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by darrenlee

Hi Maniac,

I'm fairly new to all these DAC things and need your advice on
DA 151

I'm actually using my source from pc.. (i suppose usb would be more suitable).

1) from my understanding devices using usb does take up resources in CPU.. will it affect the applications that i'm running like (flash, photoshop, dreamweaver all at the same time?)

2) i do intend to pair it up with nEar 04 (near field active speakers) and skip the amp for now. Will this be advisable?

3) sometimes i do use this to play movies and games (although most of the time it will be for music).. Will DA 151 be able to support?

4) i have a internal sound card that support S/PDIF called realtek ALC889A . Since this is an internal sound card that comes with the MB. Will that affect the sound quality if i choose the DA 131?

Thanks for your time

#1. DA-151 takes (or most other USB audio device for that matter) so little resource that you won't notice much difference at all, even if you are monitoring it with a CPU meter.

#2. You will need to make sure you have an external mean of volume control, since controlling the volume from computer via software will degrade sound (Always set it at 100% if possible)

#3. If you only use two channels, it should work just fine, but I personally recommend dedicated sound card that is designed for game when you play game, as it does offer game oriented features. (like 3D positioning of sound, etc)

#4. In most cases DA-131 with the LME49710 upgrade should be able to beat DA-151, but I recommend upgrading to cards with high quality digital output to make DA-131 really shine. There are flame wars going on elsewhere about this, but I'll risk it here one more time. SPDIF is more than just 0 and 1s, it also carries the timing information that directs when the sound should be sent out. With higher quality digital source, almost any DAC will always play even better than before.

Of course, if you do not plan to upgrade anytime soon, I recommend DA-151 for its ease of use and fully integrated design. Not to mention it is cheaper than DA-131 :P



Thanks