Quote:
Originally Posted by
kite7 
I'm very curious to know if this uDAC-2 supports Windows volume control. The uDAC-1 did not,but the HDP does. You said that the uDAC-2 uses the same 24/96 USB receiver chip as the HDP so would it be safe to assume it does support volume control within Windows? This is important to me because when someone walks into my room and talks to me, I can press mute on my keyboard to stop the sound instantly without turning the physical volume knob especially if I am playing through my speakers, with the uDAC-1 I could not do this because the Windows volume control had no effect at all.
The Mac system volume is not affecting my music volume with the second prototype. I have to use the uDAC volume knob to control it.
The new volume knob will let me get at least 4-5 dB quieter with my most sensitive custom IEM before any channel imbalance sets in at the low end. The old uDAC would start to become imbalanced at about 9:15 on the knob, now I can go as low as 8:30 on the volume knob before any imbalance starts. This is quiet enough to fall asleep wearing my new Westone ES5 (which sound stunning with the uDAC-2 I might add).
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kite7 I want to know if you were comparing the two as DACs through another amplifier.
I was using the headphone amps when I said that about the detail and spaciousness. But the HDP is also more detailed and spacious than my Pico DAC, and I have found that the uDAC RCA out sounds identical when feeding them into a bigger amp. So, therefore the HDP RCA out should still be better than the uDAC-2 to some degree. I have not been able to compare the line-outs yet. It's still clear that the improved headphone amp is not as big of a bottleneck anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
miyinan All the information so far only says the spdif output is active all the time and doesn't say if it can works as preamp (just like the RCA line out) or just bypass the build in dac and amp working as a usb-to-spdif converter (just like the original uDac when the volume is turned off).
This was all I was asking.
Digital out does not have volume attenuation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Azathoth Keeping tabs on this thread, I wonder how their upgrade program will go for the current uDAC owners. I really like the forward mids of the uDAC for my headphones (Beyer DT 150, Alessandro MS1i), so i'm iffy about the change in sound sig for the uDAC 2.
Jason posted $65 in another thread. I don't know of that is a special or normal upgrade price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jr41
RE jasonl's post in HPA's uDac-1 thread, advising:
"...For the upgrade price, we will offer special upgrade price for people who bought in July. We have to draw the line somewhere so if you bought on June 30, you have to pay the normal upgrade price..."
(link to post)
Is anyon - i.e. jasonl - able to advise what this special upgrade price for those who bought in July will be? I'm one of those customers, and although I initially expressed I probably won't upgrade, HPA's initial comments on the uDac-2 have got me interested.
Not sure myself yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
nmurthy I'm a bit confused... What's the point of an S/PDIF passthrough? The whole purpose of a DAC is to convert from digital signals (like S/PDIF) to analog signals (carried by RCA), right? Is it so you can hook the S/PDIF to a home theater receiver and use the receiver's DAC when the uDac is off (like maybe for DTS/Dolby surround) and otherwise use the uDac's DAC when the volume is on? If that's the case, why not just use the computer's digital out?
Maybe I'm just rambling on about an inconsequential feature, but I'd like to know if I'm missing anything?
Yes, to feed digital into another DAC that doesn't include USB inputs, or whose USB inputs are limited to 16/48. Not all computers have digital out.
