Nuforce Dac-100 News - Page 6

I do have a bit of static on mine, but that's only after running it into another amp and cranking it all the way up. Off the DAC-100 headphone output I don't hear any noise. It might be noise coming off your computer power supply, which is something that plagues virtually all computers. I currently run mine off the optical. .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid-Fi 

Glad to see that the Sigma 11 is still treating you well. The HDP and Sigma 11 was really a marvelous performing setup for the money. Looking back, that setup is really what convinced me to continue Head-Fi as a serious long-term hobby. Heck, nowadays my USB to SPDIF converter alone costs quite a bit more than HDP/Sigma 11 did combined.
This new DAC-100 sounds intriguing. Another amazing value DAC is my Yulong D18 fully balanced Sabre DAC at $699. It has totally blown me away and just flat out stomped my previous Audio-gd NFB 10-WM balanced DAC. It has the fantastic micro-detail the Sabre chip is known for, but also has an amazing smooth sound. Speaking of HD800, it paired great with them through both my Woo WA22 and a friends Mjolnir.

I had a prototype Woo WA22 here in the summer of 2009, and compared it to my new Eddie Current ZDT amp.  The WA22 was very good with HD600 and HD800 and almost as good as the ZDT, although the ZDT had much better driving power for the low impedance Denon D7000.  I imagine that the final production WA22 was better than the Prototype.  I'm happy to add the DAC-100 to my list of "good with HD800" amps.  

The DAC-100 is a step above the HDP, even when using the Sigma 11 PSU that takes the HDP up a notch, but it's no ZDT or WA22.  On the other hand, when you get a DAC/amp that works this well with HD800 for this price, you don't want to let go of it. Although I'm using the DAC-100 instead of the HDP these days, I don't think I'll ever sell the HDP with S11 because it's such a great bang for the buck.

PS: What kind of USB > S/PDIF converter are you using that's so costly?

I'm using the Audiophilleo2 with the optional PurePower battery mod. The combo together is about a grand, but is amazing and finally takes the computer out of the equation (the PurePower was much bigger improvement than I expected). That would have seemed crazy to me a couple of years ago when I was newer in the hobby, but all of my listening experience has made me value a couple of things really highly like quality of power, and the interface when using a computer as a transport (while there are many good and affordable solutions, I haven't found anything less expensive than AP2/PP that truly approaches a high-end player and takes the computer out of the equation). I sold the Sigma 11 to you at the same price I paid for it, so together the HDP Sigma 11 was well under the 1k mark.

The Woo Audio WA22 is a lovely amp and I really enjoy it. I love how sensitive it is to rolling tubes, which really lets you nail down synergy depending on your chain. I still use my HD 650 because of how amazing it has continued to scale with my current gear, especially with silver cabling (Moon Audio Silver Dragon XLR interconncts and balanced headphone cable). I have heard most of the flagship cans on my Woo and I think it does very well with most of the 300 ohm and higher cans like HD 650/ HD 800 / T1 etc. That being said, I personally don't feel it handles orthos very well - at least based on HE-5LE, and to a lesser extend LCD 2 rev1. HE-500 is rumored to do much better with it, but I haven't tried it yet.

Eddie Current amps are exceptional products. We've have Craig Uthus attend the last couple of larger meets we have had in the Phoenix area over the last few years. On both occasions he brought several of his flagship amps including the ZDT and Zana Deux. A local head-fi'er has the balancing act with HD 800 and it is phenominal. I would clearly place it a full step above my WA22.

Honestly, I could see adding HDP/Sigma 11 again as an office computer setup. It's amazing bang for the buck. I especially like the level of mico-detail it could resolve with the Sigma11.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict 

 

I had a prototype Woo WA22 here in the summer of 2009, and compared it to my new Eddie Current ZDT amp.  The WA22 was very good with HD600 and HD800 and almost as good as the ZDT, although the ZDT had much better driving power for the low impedance Denon D7000.  I imagine that the final production WA22 was better than the Prototype.  I'm happy to add the DAC-100 to my list of "good with HD800" amps.  

 

The DAC-100 is a step above the HDP, even when using the Sigma 11 PSU that takes the HDP up a notch, but it's no ZDT or WA22.  On the other hand, when you get a DAC/amp that works this well with HD800 for this price, you don't want to let go of it. Although I'm using the DAC-100 instead of the HDP these days, I don't think I'll ever sell the HDP with S11 because it's such a great bang for the buck.

 

PS: What kind of USB > S/PDIF converter are you using that's so costly?

I guess it doesn't like media monkey or foobar. It hasn't done it w/ itunes yet.

Not even a hour on these yet. I left the amp on over night but it's too loud to let play.

Also consider the Nuforce LPS rather than the Sigma22. While I don't have the hdp, it does a great job with the Icon2 and I use the digital converter to feed my DAC-100.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazsud 

I guess it doesn't like media monkey or foobar. It hasn't done it w/ itunes yet.

Not even a hour on these yet. I left the amp on over night but it's too loud to let play.

The DAC-100 isn't recognized? I've run mine from JRiver, VLC, and the default windows player without problem.

I kinda wish I didn't pass on a trade to own an HDP month ago, now that I have the Nuforce LPS on hand. I would have liked to hear the combo, especially with the LPS feeding digital into the HDP. 

I think the ideal combo of gear would the LPS providing power and digital input for an HDP, and also supplying power for the Icon power amp. Right now my chain is a little bit more convoluted: LPS into DAC-100 (optionally into HAP-100) into Icon2 speaker outputs into HE-6

That's odd. I haven't had any issues at all (other than me doing stupid things and trying to run too many sound devices simultaneously off my computer and crashing JRiver).

Have you tried reinstalling the driver? It might be worth shooting Nuforce tech support an email. 

A couple of the cheapest usb-optical converters I've seen and used are the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II and the Behringer UCA202. Both should run you about $30 or so. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmstrmbn 

All this talk about how great the HDP is with a proper power supply makes me really want an LPS.

The LPS is great - I use it to power my Auraliti music server and it makes a significant improvement over the stock PSU. It required adjustment from 15V to 12V via internal jumper, and Auraliti had to modify the umbilical cable for me, but the result is very satisfying. 

For what it's worth, I'll eventually be covering the DAC-100 along with the DDA-100 and HAP-100. Some here, some at InnerFidelity. Good discussion here so far. 

I'll be doing the DAC/HAP/LPS soon too (we always seem to be reviewing the same gear... you must be stalking me )

Do you know what other voltages the LPS is capable of? Is it just a simple jumper switch?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

I'll be doing the DAC/HAP/LPS soon too (we always seem to be reviewing the same gear... you must be stalking me )

 

Do you know what other voltages the LPS is capable of? Is it just a simple jumper switch?

Nope, it's the other way around! Even though you seem to have gotten these first.... it's still you stalking me, just because I say so. I can't appeal to post count but maybe join date? Or height? 

The LPS is only capable of 12V or 15V as far as I know, and yes it's a simple jumper switch. Though it does require a good amount of screw removal. It's fun to see the inside of the LPS anyway (maybe you already have) and how big the torroid is. 

I like the idea of the built-in USB to SPDIF functionality, but I went with the basic model because I knew I'd be switching to 12V. I'm not sure how that would affect the DDC add-on (if at all).

Well you've got me on join date... and probably height too. 

I've opened up the LPS actually when I was taking pics, but one of the screw holes was slightly misaligned so I had a bugger of a time getting it out and back in. I really don't want to fight with it again for fear of stripping it. I've got the images uploaded on my profile though if you want to take a look. As far as I'm aware, the DDC board runs independently from the power supply (I don't even have the power cord in and it works). It also bears a very strong resemblance to the board in the DAC-100, though I'm not surprised there. It makes me curious if there's any difference with their standalone U192S (and what accounts for the price difference, since the U192S is currently $100 but the full upgrade for the LPS is $170).

So far I'm quite impressed with the DAC-100 and HAP-100, though the closest things (in terms of cost/tier) I've compared to is the Schiit Lyr and Bifrost. Except for the gain which the Lyr wins handedly, I prefer the DAC and HAP... but qualifying that is another matter. It's also a pricepoint up, which is another matter. Nuforce has this habit of combining multiple functions into one device, which is nice in some ways, but redundant in others, and makes evaluating value trickier. 

My only nitpick at the moment is that the DAC-100 and HAP-100 use the exact same remote, meaning if you have both devices on your remote is useless because it controls both simultaneously. Does the DDA-100 have the same remote as well?