[RonO]

Quote:

Can we get some more impressions of this thing? Also, a picture of the unit since all I can find on the web are renders. Finally, does this allow for system-wide volume control on OS X?
 
I'm also interested in a comparison between the ODAC and the HRT MSII, being at the same price range I'm considering getting one or the other.

My $.02, compared to my Audio-gd Fun (as a DAC) I find the ODAC to be about the same in performance, but I do like it better.  In my setup, the ODAC seems to have more forward low frequencies, and may be a little more detailed.  I doubt I could A/B the difference, they both sound good to me. I'm very impressed by the ODAC, I got the PCB module and put it in an old IPOD box (the box an IPOD touch comes inside).  I also like that the ODAC is 100% usb, I can leave the Fun turned off, and just have my Bottlehead powered on.  I was always forgetting to turn the DAC off when I was done...

 

[wdahm519]

To me the ODAC was better than my TPA Opus DAC.  It had better extension in the low end and high end, and had more "low end punch".  The bass seemed just a bit tighter and nicer with my EHHA Rev A and HE-500's.  I'm very happy with it.
 
I put the ODAC in a standalone case.  Here's what it looks like:
 

 

[alphaphoenix]

Long shot request, but has anybody here also own or owned the Pico DAC, and if so, care to briefly compare it to the ODAC?  Thanks.

 

[wdahm519]

I think the Pico's WM8740 is not as good as the Sabre ESS ES9023 chip personally.  Also, if you were to truly believe the ODAC vs DAC PRE1 comparison (that they're equal in performance), a $1600 retail DAC would probably be better than a $300 retail DAC.
 
I'm not saying that as evidence, I'm just comparing what I know (which is very little) about the performance of the two.  You can draw your own conclusions from that evidence, and my opinions.

 

[alphaphoenix]

Apologies OP for the slight derail.  Can I assume that your opinion is currently only based on published specs, not first hand ownership and A/B comparison between the two.  If so, thanks, but I'll wait on someone who has.

 

[wdahm519]

Quote:

Apologies OP for the slight derail.  Can I assume that your opinion is currently only based on published specs, not first hand ownership and A/B comparison between the two.  If so, thanks, but I'll wait on someone who has.

Well, yes and no.  My Opus DAC has a Wolfson WM8741 chip, which is very close to the WM8740 chip (dual mono vs. stereo) so I do have first hand experience with the chips themselves.  However, the chip doesn't "make" the DAC, because the Pico DAC will sound different than the Opus DAC (assuming your system can resolve well enough the difference between the DAC's).  That being said, I'm not just talking numbers out of my ass. 
 
Because of the fact that the ODAC was just released, combined with the number of owners who actually have a Pico DAC, the chances that you're going to find someone that has both and is willing to write up a comparison for you in this thread (or see the thread) is low, you may want to heed my opinions. 
 
However, its up to you.

 

[scoopbb]

i just received my odac in a jds standalone case. its slightly longer than the o2 which kind of sucks since you cant stack em but in terms of sound...
 
super impressed. extremely revealing. listening to fleetwood mac rumors on my magnum v4 in cocobolo build, its simply crystal clear. i dont want to get into fufu terminology but the instruments completely sparkle. coming from the e10 its definitely brighter but in reality it just makes the e10 dac section sound like muddled crap. this thing is significantly louder too. i cant crank the o2 anywhere near as far as i used to get the same volume output.
 
tomorrow when i have more time ill pair it with the hd650 since i have a real good feeling they will play very well together. 
 
for the price, this thing is amazing. 

 

[wdahm519]

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makes the e10 dac section sound like muddled crap.

 
Nice.

 

[micmacmo]

i just received my odac in a jds standalone case. its slightly longer than the o2 which kind of sucks since you cant stack em but in terms of sound...

That's one of the nice things about Audio Poutine's approach. He's selling the ODAC with a B2-080 enclosure and bare O2 board (as the mount) as his standalone solution, so it stacks nicely with the O2.

That also means that if you ever decide to retrofit your O2 with the ODAC in the same enclosure, you'll have the spare board and enclosure to make another O2. Clever, me thinks.

 

[scoopbb]

first thing i did today when getting up was grabbing my hd650s and plugging them into the odac/o2 combo. definitely perfect marriage. i tend to stay away from tube amps for many various reasons so i dont have crazy rigs that cost thousands of dollars, but at this point im pretty sure i wont be upgrading anything for the foreseeable future. might write a review in the future, at the moment im feeling too lazy. gonna try the magnums with ttvj flats next. 

 

[scoopbb]

Quote:

That's one of the nice things about Audio Poutine's approach. He's selling the ODAC with a B2-080 enclosure and bare O2 board (as the mount) as his standalone solution, so it stacks nicely with the O2.
That also means that if you ever decide to retrofit your O2 with the ODAC in the same enclosure, you'll have the spare board and enclosure to make another O2. Clever, me thinks.

that would have been cool. if the jds enclosure was an inch shorter it would also at least fit on top of the o2. 

 

[fenderf4i]

I just put together my ODAC from Audio Poutine. My first "DIY" project, and it went together without a hitch. I installed RCA outs on it. Coming from the E10 as a DAC previously, and for the money, I could not be happier.
 

 

[MikeW]

if foobar is runing in exclusive mode when set to WASAPI, 24 BIT, then why does the windows volume control work? this should not do anything. It still works, that means it's still going though the windows mixer. Foobar pad's zero's it's no big deal going from 16 to 24, but I don't think windows does that, why would you want another layer of conversion?

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

if foobar is runing in exclusive mode when set to WASAPI, 24 BIT, then why does the windows volume control work? this should not do anything. It still works, that means it's still going though the windows mixer. Foobar pad's zero's it's no big deal going from 16 to 24, but I don't think windows does that, why would you want another layer of conversion?

 
Did I misunderstand you again?  Sorry about that.
 
I don't know for sure since I didn't program the thing, but I'm about 99% certain the endpoint device volume control works with WASAPI exclusive mode is because it's using a volume control on the TE7022L interface chip itself.  Microsoft seems to take great please in making the audio stack as convoluted and opaque as possible but as far as I can tell the endpoint device volume control will only work in exclusive mode if the device has it's own volume control built into the hardware.
 
You can confirm that foobar is actually using WASAPI and not going through SRC in windows by just setting foobar's "Resampler (PPHS)" DSP to an SR that the ODAC doesn't support like 88.2 and see the error when you try to play something.  No other programs will be able to play through the ODAC either so it must be in exclusive mode.  If you open the volume mixer you can see that the endpoint device volume will work while Windows' volume for foobar (not the volume in foobar) doesn't.

 

[mmayer167]

My stand-alone unit got here today from JDS. 
 
Build wise, this is an excellent little piece of gear. Granted there is not much to it, but it really is solid. 
 
Sound wise, it reminds me of the bifrost, which I cant directly compare to so take that with a grain. It really takes a few strides above the line out of the D6 DAC. Better separation and clean refined bass presence. Seems to do exactly what it was designed to. I am very happy. 
 
Those still waiting, I think you'll like it
 
-M