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Teac UD 503 DAC (2015 New Release, DXD, DSD256)
Mar 7, 2016 at 10:25 PM Post #151 of 572
sygnus21 said:
  Well yeah, I am talking about the cable, but it also goes to the head amp as well
wink.gif

 
Anyway don't misconstrue the my confusion to be a "degradation" issue, it's simply a matter of what sounds better (or worse) to you.
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So are you saying that the balanced adaptor on balanced mode is less airy compared to the 700's stock cable?
 
As you said, who's fault is this? Cable OR DAC? mmmmm interesting 
 
Mar 7, 2016 at 10:34 PM Post #152 of 572
Well because I can't compare cables, yeah, I've questions. In food when you change the ingredients things taste different; in audio when you change components you change the sound. The bottom line is I'm saying when you run in Balanced mode, you change the formula and things sound "different".  For the record, I also noted the 700's also sounded fuller in Bal mode.
 
Perhaps this is intentional by Teac, and not any fault of cable or phones. Unfortunately I can't say because I can't compare wires in the same modes. Nor do I have other phones to check in Bal mode.
 
The bottom line is when you go Balanced, the sound changes.  For me, it's not worse, it's different.
 
Hope that helps.
 
Mar 9, 2016 at 11:21 AM Post #153 of 572
@music_man, from my pervious post here
 
I decided to give Jitterbug another try and in doing so decided to keep it and use as I like the way it seems to enhance vocals. Did a with/without comparison 3 times and all 3 times revealed an improvement in vocals. It wasn't anything glaring or obtrusive, it just seemed to bring vocals to the forefront in a natural way. It's very noticeable if you use headphones.
 
At any rate, yeah, I'm keeping jitterbug.
 
Thanks.
 
Mar 13, 2016 at 5:29 AM Post #154 of 572
Hi,
 
I would like to see a high resolution picture of the main DAC PCB of the UD-503...   links anyone ?
 
Which brand/type of opamps are being used in UD-503 ?
 
Thanks
Flemming Bach
Denmark 
 
Mar 13, 2016 at 5:58 AM Post #155 of 572
It looks like some pictures of the main PCB has different capacitors close to the AK4490 DAC chip
I think it the capacitor between the VREFL and VREFH pin they have changed to a smaller physsical package.  It would also expect the uF value to be smaller...   A value of 2200uF seems to be better regarding low frequency THD...
 
Larger Caps in this picture

 
Smaller physical caps shown here:


 
Mar 13, 2016 at 6:26 AM Post #156 of 572
http://my-hiend.com/wp/%E7%B2%BE%E5%B7%A7%E7%94%9C%E7%BE%8E%E7%9A%84teac-ud-503-dac%E8%80%B3%E6%93%B4/3/
 
http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/info/hi-res-guide/bancs-d-essai/teac-ud-503-un-dac-avec178038
 
http://aficionados.foroactivo.com/t313-teac-ud-503-dual-mono-usb-dac-with-dsd-11-2mhz-headphone-amplifier-and-preamplifier
 
 
Only some google attemps. Don't know if you find what you're looking for :wink:
 
Its curious, that teac showed in previous versions (UD 501) a pic from the muse chip and mentioned that. But in 503 nothing.....!?!
 
Mar 14, 2016 at 8:33 PM Post #159 of 572
flemmingbach said:
Had anyone compared the Asus Essence One with Teac Ud-503?


And to you guys who own the UD-503, what is your impression of UD-503's sound ao far .??
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You could actually read the posts here, it’s not like this is a 3000-page thread.  That said, I posted this in the Sennheiser HD 700 Impressions Thread here because it mainly deals with the headphones (why I posted there and not here); though it also speaks on the 503's headphone amp.   
 
With that, my overall impression is a warm sounding DAC with no hint of harshness or "digital sound".  Of course the source fed to it, as well as the components connected to it, also has an influence on the sound as well, so...  I use JRiver Media Center 21 for my music player with files encoded in flac. My speakers are Audioengine's powered A5+, plus their S8 sub.  Headphones are Sennheiser's HD700.
 
Mar 14, 2016 at 10:56 PM Post #160 of 572
syg, i completely agree with your take. that is why i like it so much. it is certainly not the best dac out but it is nearly tube like with the right speakers and amp. i have used this in six figure systems. i don't really care what people might say about that. what sounds good to you is important. if it is cheap gear so be it. not to mention this does shoot higher than it's price tag would suggest.
 
Mar 15, 2016 at 1:01 AM Post #161 of 572
music_man said:
  syg, i completely agree with your take. that is why i like it so much. it is certainly not the best dac out but it is nearly tube like with the right speakers and amp. i have used this in six figure systems. i don't really care what people might say about that. what sounds good to you is important. if it is cheap gear so be it. not to mention this does shoot higher than it's price tag would suggest.
Click to expand...

 
I started to mention something about it being "tube like", but never heard one, I decided against it .  However, one of the things I've always heard a tube amp is how warm they sound. 
 
As for the quality of the DAC, I certainly like it and that's all that matters.
 
Peace
cool.gif
 
 
Mar 15, 2016 at 4:30 AM Post #162 of 572
Sygnus21, thanks for elaborating on how you experience the "sound" of the UD-503.  
 
Today I have the Asus E1, and I run the 8 x I/V section with passive resistors. This made the E1 sound smooth and airy. 
 
But I now want to try something else than TI DAC chips. And I find the Teac UD-503 very interesting regards to choice of digital filters and up-sampling possibility.  
 
If i buy the Teac UD-503 i might change the opamps (NE5532 ?) to something better like LME49722 / LME4720 which I find have a sweet and nice sound.
 
It would be nice to know the size (uF) of the Capacitors on the AK4490´s VREFL and VREFH.   As it looks like Teac change them to smaller physical size caps. It would be nice with a picture of these caps and their valuce :)
 
Cheers
Flemming
 
Mar 15, 2016 at 2:15 PM Post #163 of 572

I don't do, nor intend to have done, any mods to my 503 so I'm not the one to ask about that sort of thing. In fact, if I have to mod it, its no good to me. That also means I won't be opening it up and taking a look see.
 
Thanks.
 
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