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How does the uDac honestly stack up? - Page 3

post #31 of 82
3/4/10 at 11:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacedonianHero View Post
Why the hate for the uDac? Lighten up.
Not "hate." I've even recommended it a few times, based on the needs of the person. But in reality, there are flaws in the sound that keeps it well out of the realm of "audiophile." It just gets a little tedious seeing a mediocre DAC getting praised the way it does, when it's pretty clear most of it is based on marketing and "group think." In reality, it's not that great of a DAC. So you find yourself wishing people would just wake up a little from the hypnosis. But whatever - they're your ears. If you like noticeably flawed sound, then just keep telling yourself the uDAC is god's gift to the audioworld, by all means.
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post #32 of 82
3/4/10 at 11:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
huh, where?
Lol.

Right - we all know there's none of that around here!
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post #33 of 82
3/4/10 at 11:17pm
Thread Starter 
I saw mention of the Dac Extasy so I looked it up and it seems to be pretty nice. It's all hand built and everything and I've read pretty good reviews of it from other places. Anyone compared it to a uDac?
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post #34 of 82
3/4/10 at 11:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiskeyBent View Post
I saw mention of the Dac Extasy so I looked it up and it seems to be pretty nice. It's all hand built and everything and I've read pretty good reviews of it from other places. Anyone compared it to a uDac?
Yes, I owned and compared both. But the uDAC owners don't like to hear about the comparison, so you're out of luck.

Seriously - all kidding aside, I have been attacked pretty strongly as a "shill" for comparing Hotaudio products to head-fi sponsors' products, and even banned for daring to say the Hotaudio product sounds better (in the cases when it does). So if you want to know more, you'll have to use the search engine, if those few posts I made reviewing the two haven't also been deleted yet.
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post #35 of 82
3/4/10 at 11:31pm
I think that the hotaudio guy should somehow get nicer looking cases anyway...and he refuses to disclose what DAC he uses, no internal shots...I mean, why? trusting manufacturers and end users on their own good word is not too much of an option these days...shills, honest ppl w/ low expectations, etc etc.

I like to know what I'm buying, and I want it to look good on the inside AND the outside...each time I've believed ppl on their good word to buy gear, I've got burned badly....Ultrasone Proline750, Musiland 02US, Audio-GD discrete opamps, etc etc

I've just bought a new DAC, but it looks really good on the inside AND the outside...and I can even roll opamps, my guilty little pleasure
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post #36 of 82
3/4/10 at 11:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
I think that the hotaudio guy should somehow get nicer looking cases anyway...and he refuses to disclose what DAC he uses, no internal shots...I mean, why? trusting manufacturers and end users on their own good word is not too much of an option these days...shills, honest ppl w/ low expectations, etc etc.

I like to know what I'm buying, and I want it to look good on the inside AND the outside...each time I've believed ppl on their good word to buy gear, I've got burned badly....Ultrasone Proline750, Musiland 02US, Audio-GD discrete opamps, etc etc

I've just bought a new DAC, but it looks really good on the inside AND the outside...and I can even roll opamps too, my favorite guilty pleasure
I'm not a fan of those plastic cases, that's for sure. But the other stuff is in standard Hammond enclosures that look pretty good and are also really durable. I don't have a problem with that.

I think you hit on part of the problem, though: people often go for "looks" at the expense of the sound, which is kind of too bad. That's a good way to get stuck with a uDAC and miss out on something like the Extasy. No one wants gear that looks like crap, but I think the low profile look of the Hammond enclosures are actually a plus. No one complains about them when they're for starving student amps, m^3 amps, etc. I think they're fine.

btw, what DAC did you just get?
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post #37 of 82
3/5/10 at 12:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
I think that the hotaudio guy should somehow get nicer looking cases anyway...and he refuses to disclose what DAC he uses, no internal shots...I mean, why? trusting manufacturers and end users on their own good word is not too much of an option these days...shills, honest ppl w/ low expectations, etc etc.

I like to know what I'm buying, and I want it to look good on the inside AND the outside...each time I've believed ppl on their good word to buy gear, I've got burned badly....Ultrasone Proline750, Musiland 02US, Audio-GD discrete opamps, etc etc

I've just bought a new DAC, but it looks really good on the inside AND the outside...and I can even roll opamps, my guilty little pleasure
DAC-EXTASY USB POWERED DAC [DAC-EXTASY] - $269.99 : HOTAUDIO.COM, Hand Made Audio Perfection!

Says right there it's a Wolfson DAC. I have a feeling this post may get deleted from what I've read regarding HotAudio. I want to believe Head-Fi wouldn't stoop to the level he's saying by deleting everything pertaining to them, but who knows. Money is a powerful thing.

Edit** Also says here exactly what chip he uses

Why was HOTAUDIO.COM banned ??? - HotAudio.Com Forums
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post #38 of 82
3/5/10 at 12:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiskeyBent View Post
DAC-EXTASY USB POWERED DAC [DAC-EXTASY] - $269.99 : HOTAUDIO.COM, Hand Made Audio Perfection!

Says right there it's a Wolfson DAC. I have a feeling this post may get deleted from what I've read regarding HotAudio. I want to believe Head-Fi wouldn't stoop to the level he's saying by deleting everything pertaining to them, but who knows. Money is a powerful thing.

Edit** Also says here exactly what chip he uses

Why was HOTAUDIO.COM banned ??? - HotAudio.Com Forums
hotaudio isn't banned ( Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Profile: hotaudio40 )

userlander was previously banned for his behavior.
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post #39 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcpoor View Post
hotaudio isn't banned ( Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Profile: hotaudio40 )

userlander was previously banned for his behavior.
Behavior? What "behavior?"

Oh, right - talking about amps and dacs I owned and listened to, while being attacked by people who had never heard them because I was praising the Hotaudio equipment. That's really bad "behavior" around here.
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post #40 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiskeyBent View Post
Also says here exactly what chip he uses
all I see is "Wolfson" just like uDAC lovers tell you "Saaaaaaaabre" w/ a big smile on their face.

Wolfson makes low end and high end stuff, and the PCM2702E chip he's mentioning is nowhere the price he's talking about.

I considered his products tbh, but the cases look lousy, and he's always like "there's no need for me to tell you what's in the box, just buy it and be amazed"...I don't work like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by userlander View Post
btw, what DAC did you just get?
I'd rather not mention it at this point, but it's *not* HOTAUDIO hah...it's actually from a head-fi sponsor.
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post #41 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:14am
HLLY DMK-IV DAC?

I just ordered some audio-gd discretes. Just curious to hear your opinion on them since you've tried so many opamps.
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post #42 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
all I see is "Wolfson" just like uDAC lovers tell you "Saaaaaaaabre" w/ a big smile on their face.

Wolfson makes low end and high end stuff, and the PCM2702E chip he's mentioning is nowhere the price he's talking about.
I could be wrong, but I think he was listing the Canadian price.

Quote:
I considered his products tbh, but the cases look lousy, and he's always like "there's no need for me to tell you what's in the box, just buy it and be amazed"...I don't work like that.

I'd rather not mention it at this point, but it's *not* HOTAUDIO hah
I gathered.

I agree on wanting to know what's inside, but in the end I think what you hear is more important. Knowing the specific component can perhaps guide you in what to get, but for me ultimately it's not the deal breaker.

I think the Sabre dac model in the uDAC is known, however. I forget the exact number, but it's in the uDAC thread. In that case, however, knowing the model doesn't seem to improve the sound. So I think it can work both ways: people convince themselves something *must* sound a certain way (good) just because they know the component. Doesn't always work out that way in reality.
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post #43 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:20am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post
all I see is "Wolfson" just like uDAC lovers tell you "Saaaaaaaabre" w/ a big smile on their face.

Wolfson makes low end and high end stuff, and the PCM2702E chip he's mentioning is nowhere the price he's talking about.

I considered his products tbh, but the cases look lousy, and he's always like "there's no need for me to tell you what's in the box, just buy it and be amazed"...I don't work like that, what if he used nasty OPA2604/2134 and still called it "amazing" huh.

I'd rather not mention it at this point, but it's *not* HOTAUDIO hah...it's actually a head-fi sponsor.
Do we have to buy from a head-fi sponsor if we ask questions on here? Or am I misinterpreting what you're saying? Seems a bit stand-offish. I'm done now though before I am mistaken for defending a company I'm not. Thanks for your replies in helping me.
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post #44 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiskeyBent View Post
Do we have to buy from a head-fi sponsor if we ask questions on here? Or am I misinterpreting what you're saying? Seems a bit stand-offish. I'm done now though before I am mistaken for defending a company I'm not. Thanks for your replies in helping me.
You can buy whatever you want, but if you buy a Hotaudio amp/dac and it ends up sounding better than something like the uDAC, you will be attacked pretty strongly around here for saying so. Ultimately perhaps you will even banned, if you stand up for yourself and defend yourself against the "group mind" attacks, because in those cases they say it's your "behavior" rather than the behavior of the people attacking you that's to blame.
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post #45 of 82
3/5/10 at 1:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiskeyBent View Post
Do we have to buy from a head-fi sponsor if we ask questions on here? Or am I misinterpreting what you're saying? Seems a bit stand-offish. I'm done now though before I am mistaken for defending a company I'm not. Thanks for your replies in helping me.
hahaha, you guys are going WAY over the top over here!

ok, first I bought a firestone spitfire 2009, but you cannot roll opamps in the damn thing, it was a HUGE let down for me ..so I've found a great deal on the old spitfire where you can actually roll opamps...and this DAC looks great in gray w/ the dragon on the front panel, it does 24/96 over toslink/coax, runs on their "supplier" discrete linear regulated PSU, is apparently compatible w/ every opamp on earth....and I'm sure is gonna rock w/ either a burson V2/LT1028/AD797 as LPF

RMAA rules on the old stock spitfire: RightMark Audio Analyzer test: SPITFIRE

about the Audio-GD parts? I only ran them on ±9V so YMMV...but:
-Moon was distorted to death like those RMAA measurements are more or less showing: RightMark Audio Analyzer test: comparison
-Sun V2 made me feel half-deaf, as there's a lot of tonal nuances it doesn't output(majkel said the same thing)
-Earth was really nice! but the Burson V2 is the same, just muuuuuuuuuch better...clearer, more natural, simply far more enjoyable.

so in the end I could have just bought one burson V2 and save time and money.

to me the best opamps are AD797B/LT1028AC and the Burson V2...and majkel would agree on the two firsts: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/aud...-v-2-a-397691/

RS does too: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/6402627-post77.html

and what if the HOTAUDIO guy was calling an OPA2604/2134 "AMAZING"? customers deserve to know what they're buying...exact DAC model, opamps, etc.
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