[Anaxilus]

Quote:

That's probably because the Arrow is not that good of an amp as far as SQ.  Dacport is great - no need to feed a great signal into an inferior amp.

Too bad I'm using a 4G board and it doesn't sound like whichever version you heard.  DACPort is not ideal synergistically w/ the HD800.  Plus the DACPort is 10 ohms out and the 4G is <1.
 

 

[bulmanxxi]

You said yourself "it's not sounding it's best"... I had the 3G and wasn't impressed although the size and features were very good - don't know if the 4G is much different other than the treble boost but have not heard it.  DacPort is far superior of an amp compared to the 3G at least.  Too bad the Dacport isn't portable with a built in battery.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

You said yourself "it's not sounding it's best"...

Yeah, because I don't have a $2-$3K Eddie Current of Woo Audio amp on hand atm.  The DACPort is worse w/ the HD800 than the 4G due to lack of versatility and poor sonic synergy.  The 4G is giving up very little at all to the DACport and the synergy is better.  Hence I'm using it the way I said.  The treble 'boost' changes everything.  I'd call it more of a 'neutralizer' than an enhancer.  I'd love dfkt to get his hands on one so he can RMAA the 4G v. the prior gens.  I haven't even touched the 2.2G I have except to compare the new BB signature.  
 
Anyway, I plan to have a UHA4 and ZO in my possession to compare to the 4G.  I heard Blastos Leckerton at the last meet for almost 2 hours against the Arrow, ALO Rx, TTVJ Millet hybrid, D4, and a few others.  The UH4A was impressive and I did prefer it to my 2.2G in overall signature as it was clearer, more transparent and had more natural, musical dynamics although a bit less 'defined' in imaging.  The 4G is a different ballgame.  We'll see, I'm waiting for a reply from Nick about the 209 opamp still so I'll have an answer about that versus the 8610 for whoever asked.  I know it's going to be a fun comparison.
 

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

I have yet to find a portable solution for the HD800's The UHA-4 isn't bad on them, but they are a little thin and bright (I don't think there is much to do about the bright until I get my hands on that Eddie Current Super 7) I'm working on it..
I got my Fiio E11, I'm not afraid to say it, that is one cheap POS, it looks cheap, it feels cheap, I should have gone for an E7, the aluminum and plexiglass would have probably had a better feel to it. Dunno about sound quality though, I'm thinking of doing another full on comparison this time between the E11 and the PA2V2, we'll see. I'm busy building a stereo monitor setup for my computer, I have most of it, but I don't think the UHA-4's dac is gonna cut it, gotta buy something full on people gave me suggestions, I'm looking into them...

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I have yet to find a portable solution for the HD800's The UHA-4 isn't bad on them, but they are a little thin and bright (I don't think there is much to do about the bright until I get my hands on that Eddie Current Super 7) I'm working on it..
I got my Fiio E11, I'm not afraid to say it, that is one cheap POS, it looks cheap, it feels cheap, I should have gone for an E7, the aluminum and plexiglass would have probably had a better feel to it. Dunno about sound quality though, I'm thinking of doing another full on comparison this time between the E11 and the PA2V2, we'll see. I'm busy building a stereo monitor setup for my computer, I have most of it, but I don't think the UHA-4's dac is gonna cut it, gotta buy something full on people gave me suggestions, I'm looking into them...

Pm'd
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I have yet to find a portable solution for the HD800's

I'm thinking of giving the UHA6 w/ OPA627s a shot.  The PB2 should drive them also w/ 32V of swing balanced and you could play w/ the opamps.
 

 

[bulmanxxi]

I would not use the UHA-4 as a line out for studio monitors.  For studio monitors, I'd suggest one of the HRT Music Streamer line (but you'd need a volume control) or even the DacPort works well.  uDac-2 has quite a signifficant channel imbalance, so I would not recommend it either.

 

[lee730]

What do you think is better the dacport or the HRT Music Streamer II?

 

[munkyballz]

Quote:

I have yet to find a portable solution for the HD800's The UHA-4 isn't bad on them, but they are a little thin and bright (I don't think there is much to do about the bright until I get my hands on that Eddie Current Super 7) I'm working on it..
I got my Fiio E11, I'm not afraid to say it, that is one cheap POS, it looks cheap, it feels cheap, I should have gone for an E7, the aluminum and plexiglass would have probably had a better feel to it. Dunno about sound quality though, I'm thinking of doing another full on comparison this time between the E11 and the PA2V2, we'll see. I'm busy building a stereo monitor setup for my computer, I have most of it, but I don't think the UHA-4's dac is gonna cut it, gotta buy something full on people gave me suggestions, I'm looking into them...

 
Thanks, even though it probably didn't have a place in my rotation of toys, was tempted to try it out for kicks due to its immense hype of late. 
 
Just saved me $70 bucks, hey that's almost a nights worth of drinks, which is always good
 
 

 

[shotgunshane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by munkyballz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Just saved me $70 bucks, hey that's almost a nights worth of drinks, which is always good

Almost?! 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

everyone to Portland tonight, drinks are on munkyballz!

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

I have yet to find a portable solution for the HD800's The UHA-4 isn't bad on them, but they are a little thin and bright (I don't think there is much to do about the bright until I get my hands on that Eddie Current Super 7) I'm working on it..
I got my Fiio E11, I'm not afraid to say it, that is one cheap POS, it looks cheap, it feels cheap, I should have gone for an E7, the aluminum and plexiglass would have probably had a better feel to it. Dunno about sound quality though, I'm thinking of doing another full on comparison this time between the E11 and the PA2V2, we'll see. I'm busy building a stereo monitor setup for my computer, I have most of it, but I don't think the UHA-4's dac is gonna cut it, gotta buy something full on people gave me suggestions, I'm looking into them...

 
Its a shame the E11 didnt live up to the (massive) hype for you - still, 60 bucks ?? You *might* find a secondhand T3 for that, but ClieOS claims the E11 is on par with the T3 - beats me.
 
Time to get that Zen Head, Blasto, and put these pretenders to the sword. Really looking forward to your impressions.

 

[bulmanxxi]

@lee730
 
It depends on what you are looking to acomplish.  The HRT Streamer does not have a headphone amp built in - it is a DAC only.  The Dacport is both a DAC and an amp.  The Dacport does have a volume knob, the HRT does not.  The Dacport costs almost three times as much!  The HRT is much bigger and still doesn't have volume control, which you would need as the output signal is very loud.
 
So, if you are feeding speakers and need a DAC only the HRT is the better value.  But the DACport is an excellent DAC/amp in its own right.  If you need both an amp and a dac, the DACport may be a better value still, as it is an all in one unit and it is also quite portable with a laptop, notebook, etc. for headphone use.
 
If you are ONLY using headphones, even if you need DAC and amp, the UHA-4 is even better value.

 

[Anaxilus]

@bulmanxxi
 
Do you notice any jitter issues on the DAC side?
 
Have you tried any other op amps?
 

 

[bulmanxxi]

According to the website, looks like the op amps can only be switched on the UHA-6 and UHA-6S - do you know differently about the UHA-4?  In any case, I see no need to mess with the sound.  
 
As for jitter, nothing apparent, however, I did try to feed (just to test) my powered monitors with the UHA-4 as a DAC and while it does the job the resulting SQ was not as good nor was the volume control convenient (its not terribly convenient for headphones either as the LOD gets in the way).  As I have an HRT Streamer, I did not spend to much time fiddling with the UHA-4 as a DAC for the monitors.  For headphones, it performs much better.  Still, it would be nice if the DAC can be upgraded maybe in a future version and provide a better line-out SQ and perhaps 24/96 capability, IF cost/price permits.  I liked the dual DACs on the D4 but the Dacport takes the cake for its DAC.  For powered and studio monitors only, there are better options where the HRT maybe be the value leader.