dcginc
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2002
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Saw this image posted on Tone Audio's Personal Audio Facebook page but not much comes up in an online search
I owned the Teac P50. Is it possible to install the muse8920 or muse02 to Teac P50 by user himself. Thanks
Interesting! Thank you for the detailed info, Tomscy.
I wanted to pick up the Onkyo A-9050 the other day and I was wondering why brands like Onkyo, Yamaha and Denon were ignoring the portable audio market. I guess I was wrong...
Too bad that a) the DAC is not available in Europe, and b) it's only rebranded. I like the speaker amps from Onkyo, I would like to see what they could come up with for headphones.
I have much respect for you inside knowledge!
Well, considering that the TEAC is really good, the Onkyo should also be really good. It's difficult to predict how changing out the OPA1652 to the MUSES8920 will change the sound; both are FET input opamps, so they have similar performance characteristics (8920 looks slightly prettier on paper). Both are well-regarded opamps and are preferred units by modern designers.
TEAC actually likes using the 8920 a lot, but they tend to use it for I/V LPF conversion in their DACs. Since that step is done in the charge pump of the PCM5102A here, the only thing these opamps are doing is voltage gain, and I don't know how that will impact sound.
The designer of both units has mentioned in a press conference that the two are voiced differently, however, owing to a different sound philosophy between the two firms (TEAC and Onkyo). Interestingly, the Onkyo spec sheet quotes its analog input performance (0.003% THD+N into 32 ohms), while the TEAC quotes its digital performance (0.001% into 32 ohms). Personally, I thought the TEAC's weak link was its analog input performance (even though it supposedly uses a discrete analog stage for the amplifier portion), but I doubt most people would be using it as an amplifier. As a DAC/amp, the TEAC is absolutely excellent, especially for its price. FYI, the HA-P50B is driven to ~2.25 Vrms, while the DAC-HA200 is driven to ~2.15 Vrms, at max. power into 32 ohms.
Overall, I'd say the better buy is the TEAC (slightly cheaper, slightly more powerful, slightly better performance numbers, a pleasant, well-rounded overall sound), but the differences should be minor. I assume that if someone prefers the Onkyo signature over the TEAC's, then it wouldn't be a performance penalty to go with the Onkyo.
You mention the TEAC being slightly more powerful, is it based on the specs on paper against the Onkyo or you are basing it on the price to performance value? I'm not very technical in these so am curious
It's based on specs on paper, but the difference isn't much, and there practically is no real-world difference. The Onkyo has 145 mW into 32 ohm while the TEAC has 160 into 32 ohm. That's it. 15 mW is not much of a difference. As I mentioned, from memory, the two sound similar, but I wouldn't be able to tell you pinpoint differences because I have not A/B'ed the two and have only listened to both on separate occasions.
Thank you. I'm only just scratching the surface into the world of headphones and presently own a pair of Shure SE535 reds and the portable Fiio E18 dac+amp. Since I'm thinking to grab a pair of the Sennheiser HD650 sometime later this year, I suppose I'm gonna need something to power the 300ohms headphone so am currently looking at something at about $400 price range. At present after some googling I'm narrowing it down between these two and the Nuforce Icon HDP. But I wonder if they are substantially higher quality sound wise than the Fiio products for their retail prices.