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alchemist007 said:

Well I could pass the udac2 to my bro and upgrade but I suppose it would most helpful to hear from anyone who's heard from both of them. Really the udac2 is my first dac/amp purchase so I don't have anything to compare it to besides my computer's sound card.

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What are your reasons for replacing your uDAC?

Well I want to know if it's worth stepping up (if this would be a good step up). I listen to mostly pop/rock and sometimes the flac rips are noticeably better and sometimes not (vs 320kbps mp3), just to give an idea of what I'm listening to. I wouldn't put my budget much higher than $300 but I'm open to other options.

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alchemist007 said:

Well I want to know if it's worth stepping up (if this would be a good step up). I listen to mostly pop/rock and sometimes the flac rips are noticeably better and sometimes not (vs 320kbps mp3), just to give an idea of what I'm listening to. I wouldn't put my budget much higher than $300 but I'm open to other options.

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I haven't heard the uDAC.
 
I have the ODAC+O2 combo (~US$300) and listen to everything from 128kbps MP3's (which are usually acceptable) to 320kbps MP3 files (which are fine) and FLAC (also fine.) Both the ODAC and the O2 are audibly neutral. Would you find this a step up?
 
On the potential downside, the ODAC is limited to USB input and the ODAC+O2 combo mutes the ODAC when an analog source is attached to the O2's analog input. I'd much rather have switchable inputs. Even so, I'd almost certainly buy another if I was in the market for a DAC+amp.

Well, only comparing the udac2 to onboard audio, I'd say it's got punchier bass and brings out some instruments I couldn't hear before (greater soundstage?). What I'd hope for is an even greater soundstage, cleaner highs, and bass that's less 'muddy' as I'd put it. It's not bad by an means but what else would you have in mind if you had this amount of money to spend?
 
I'm not too concerned about inputs, I listen exclusively on my desktop. I mean 5.1 support would be fantastic for my surround sound speakers but I think that would cost a lot more (so I've kept my music listening to headphones for now).

When NWavGuy says the Udac measures bad, it's not him being biased. It's an objective approach where it's fair to say that compared to amps that measure well, and as far as measurements go, the Udac fares badly compared to certain other products.
Now the question is whether that means you'll get the change you're looking for with something else. Practically, better measurements equal better performance but there are numerous caveats. I'm not even sure NWavGuy mentioned what he thought about the Udac's sound.
To find out you're going to have to spend money if you have no other options. It's my experience that when you need to spend money to find out something (rather than just buying something because you definitely want it period), it's best to spend as little as possible. 
A used O2 combination is a good choice. The fiio e9 measures well as an amp and so does that 30 bucks behringer dac that he mentions in the article. Also the Xonar Essence is a device with pretty good measurements.
 
Keep in mind though that ultimately, those differences are all rather minor. I never went from one amp to another and noticed a huge improvement in clearity or god forbid soundstage, unless I take my worn out 20 year old entry level mitsubishi integrated with insanely bloated bass and no treble as reference.
 
For example, my little dot (which was supposedly voiced with certain headphones in mind, which makes alarm bells go off because it smacks of a 'design by ear' approach), of which the measurements are unknown, sounds pretty much similar to my e9 and only a little different than my marantz integrated. And those are varying topologies.

Hi.
Some time ago I changed my o2's gain setting to 1x to make it more quiet. I hoped that it would suit me but when connected with odac it's still a bit too loud for my liking. I'm usually listening with volume knob about 8-9am which cause channel inbalance.
 
I was wondering if there is any other way to make o2 more quiet. I was thinking of replacing the pot with 20k one but I have no idea if that would work.

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protofik said:

Hi.
Some time ago I changed my o2's gain setting to 1x to make it more quiet. I hoped that it would suit me but when connected with odac it's still a bit too loud for my liking. I'm usually listening with volume knob about 8-9am which cause channel inbalance.
 
I was wondering if there is any other way to make o2 more quiet. I was thinking of replacing the pot with 20k one but I have no idea if that would work.

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lower your computers digital volume. if your concerned about bit degradation you can set your odac to output 24 bit audio. this way you can "over sample" and add "fake bits" which will be the ones lost in the lowering of digital volume. although, as discussed here a couple of times, the difference isnt exactly noticeable...
 
right now i have my computers volume at 50%, and the O2s pot at just over 9 oclock. works just fine for me =]

I always had my ODAC set to 24/44.1KHz. I feel like any volume level below 100% has a bit less punchy bass.
It might be just a placebo effect but my friend felt the same.

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protofik said:

I always had my ODAC set to 24/44.1KHz. I feel like any volume level below 100% has a bit less punchy bass.
It might be just a placebo effect but my friend felt the same.

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placebo effect? yes and no. yes - because when you lower the volume, the volume of the bass is reduced aswell (ofcourse).
no - because (in my personal experience blah blah) bit degradation only becomes noticeable at a very low bit depth. around 9 bit (in my experience). 
 
so even if you were using 16 bit output, lowering digital volume is unlikely to have an audible effect. for further information on bit depth i highly recommend you read at least the op of this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/415361/24bit-vs-16bit-the-myth-exploded
 
furthermore, with equalization you can keep the volume low and still maintain a high bass volume. this is what i do myself.

Thanks. I will have a read later.
 
I'm not a big fan or eq nor heavy bass.
I think I will just try to do some proper blind test between 80% and 100%. Hope I was wrong.

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protofik said:

Thanks. I will have a read later.
 
I'm not a big fan or eq nor heavy bass.
I think I will just try to do some proper blind test between 80% and 100%. Hope I was wrong.

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good luck

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adamlr said:

lower your computers digital volume. if your concerned about bit degradation you can set your odac to output 24 bit audio. this way you can "over sample" and add "fake bits" which will be the ones lost in the lowering of digital volume. although, as discussed here a couple of times, the difference isnt exactly noticeable...
 
right now i have my computers volume at 50%, and the O2s pot at just over 9 oclock. works just fine for me =]

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According to the JDS Labs instructions I always set my ODAC to 24-bit/96kHz.
I only play the Red Book CDs.
I also rip CDs to WAV files (16-bit/44.1kHz) and then play the WAV files.
(I don't have any 24-bit/96kHz files yet.)
 
Any suggestions or comments?

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jakejack_2008 said:

 
According to the JDS Labs instructions I always set my ODAC to 24-bit/96kHz.
I only play the Red Book CDs.
I also rip CDs to WAV files (16-bit/44.1kHz) and then play the WAV files.
(I don't have any 24-bit/96kHz files yet.)
 
Any suggestions or comments?

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good. your "over sampling" 16 but audio into 24 bits. any bit degradation will probably be stripping "fake" bits and no loss of quality should be noticed when lowering digital volume. though as i have already said, even if you didnt over sample, and remained with 16 bits, the difference, though measurable, would most likely not be audible. this is arguable ofcourse, but thats my take on the issue.
 
what are red book cds?

Hey everyone, just a quick question about the ODAC and the O2. I'm looking to purchase some Audioengine A5+'s and Sennheiser HD 598's along with the ODAC and O2 as separate devices. If what I've gathered is correct then I should be fine and dandy connecting things like so:
 
Computer -> ODAC -> Speakers
 
Computer -> ODAC -> O2 -> Headphones
 
Just would like to make sure this setup is good to go before making my purchases.

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thepeacemaker10 said:

Hey everyone, just a quick question about the ODAC and the O2. I'm looking to purchase some Audioengine A5+'s and Sennheiser HD 598's along with the ODAC and O2 as separate devices. If what I've gathered is correct then I should be fine and dandy connecting things like so:
 
Computer -> ODAC -> Speakers
 
Computer -> ODAC -> O2 -> Headphones
 
Just would like to make sure this setup is good to go before making my purchases.

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thats how my setup works =]
 
the a5+ are self powered speakers. i.e, they have an internal amp built into one of them. provide the line out signal from the odac, and you should be fine