I've had the DAC for about three months and I feel like it's time to write a review. I got this off massdrop for around $310 shipped.
Let me say a little about myself. I haven't been in the audiophile world for super long, so some of the stuff I say/do might seem really dumb or weird. Bear with me, I'm still learning! Anyways, just a little less than a year ago I got my first "real" headphone setup. I had heard good headphones sometimes before, but I never decided to pull the trigger and go in. I'm pretty young so I don't think that my hearing is going bad quite yet. I listen to all kinds of music from pop to rap to classical (common practice period) and everything in-between. I listen to the DAC-80 with a DT880/600 run out of a Schiit Magni 2. My interconnects aren't some super insane high quality unobtanium wires, but they seem to work pretty well for me. Sorry if this invalidates this review for you. I'll try to write about some stuff that isn't already covered in other reviews just so that anybody that's reading through reviews can get the most thorough feel for this DAC absent actually buying it or demoing.
Let me start off with the explanation of the first con I mentioned as it may seem extremely worrisome to some. The popping issue was where I would occasionally hear pops of varying loudness during music playback. It drove me absolutely crazy. I tried several software fixes to no avail. Upsampling the native playback resolution in windows helped a little, but didn't seem to completely solve the issue (I upsampled to 24/192, but now I just keep it at 24/48). What did fix the problem was switching from a USB 3.0 input to a SPDIF optical from my motherboard. I read somewhere that the asynchronous USB 2.0 didn't play well with the USB 3.0 on my motherboard. I didn't dock too many points because I still partly believe that the software issue is just spaghetti coding by Microsoft or something. Also, I don't think that the popping issue was on the DAC-80 side. I think it was more of a software issue on my laptop's side. Hopefully this helps somebody, as this made me go absolutely mad trying to fix. Thankfully, all is good now.
Next I'll go to the physical aspects. If you need pictures there's another review on head-fi with beautiful pictures of this DAC's insides. The nuforce website has good images of the outside. The build quality is okay. I wouldn't give it full stars as if you tap on the DAC is makes sort of a weird cheap box ringing noise, but I'm not sure if this is true for all of the DAC-80s. Also this is sort of a non-issue as I don't tap my DAC all day or really ever. The texture of the finish on the DAC-80 is very nice and also looks nice. Just looking at the DAC, it's a fine piece. But really, it's just a silver box with some vent holes and pretty lights on the front. Nice minimalist look which some people enjoy and others don't. I'm one that does enjoy it. The physical footprint isn't too big, although if you're limited on desk space it might not be the best choice to buy.
The power cable is very thick and sturdy with a huge ferrite choke on it. It doesn't have any issue with coming loose, although this may change with age (a decade down the road). It kind of looks like the connector on the DAC-80 is falling out, but it juts sort of sits a little further outside compared to other electronics and isn't actually falling out. It's pretty firmly attached. There's also a provided USB A to USB B cord, but it's kind of bad and pretty short.
The source sample rate and bit depth labels are super hard to read, but again I don't really care since I know what the sample rate and bit depth is of my music and I don't need my DAC to tell me. The input source lights are pretty easy to see if your DAC isn't too far away. One sort of big thing that I like about the lights is that they're not ridiculously bright and that I don't need to cover them with electrical tape or something. Both the blue and white varieties of the sample rate/bit depth lights don't blind me and fill my room with light when the ceiling lights are off.
The remote is just a remote. I think that it could've been a little better designed but it's whatever. I just view it as something extra. It is somewhat useful though. To turn on the DAC-80 you just have to press the volume knob button. However once on, a short press of the volume knob button just switches the input source. To put the DAC-80 into standby mode (the DAC doesn't really turn off fully unless you switch the power on the back or unplug it) you have to hold down the volume knob button for five seconds. With the remote you can just press the "off" button which is nice I suppose.
Just few things about the remote, it has to be pointed at either the front of the DAC (where the lights and volume knob are) or from above towards the vent holes. To clarify, you have to be either standing in front of the DAC or be above the DAC and aim towards the front. For some reason, being in the plane of the DAC (horizontal to the DAC) and using the remote from the sides or back does not work. I never tested from below, but I think this is pretty impractical anyways. It was kind of hard to describe the directions, but I tried my best. Also, the remote seems to have a pretty decent range (at least two meters) as long as you're in a place where the signal can reach the receiver as mentioned above.
Also, the volume knob is not motorized so the physical position of the volume knob and the actual volume knob can be un-synchronized and if you move the volume knob physically it'll jump to that volume indicated by the volume knob regardless of how you changed it through the remote. Basically the danger here is that if you use the remote to lower the volume a ton and then you move the knob the volume will jump up and possibly damage something/someone. If that's confusing read the other reviews, they explain it better.
Just in case anybody is curious, the DAC-80 doesn't run very warm. It's never been hot to the touch although it definitely does generate some heat since it's warmer than plain room temperature. The Schiit Magni 2 definitely runs warmer (just as a reference point) which is to be expected. I have the volume knob on max if that matters at all.
Before I go any further I'll mention that I have my windows sound volume at 100%, my player software volume at 100% (to my knowledge is bit perfect without attenuation or gain), the DAC-80 at full volume (4V RMS through RCA I think), and my Schiit Magni 2 at around 9 o'clock which is kind of low. I have no idea if these are the optimal settings, but hey it sounds good so whatever. However, this might not work for everybody since the DT880/600 aren't the easiest headphones to run and even still I don't get too much leeway on the volume knob with the Schiit Magni 2. I get enough though without running my volume too far down into any channel imbalance issues.
As for the sound of the DAC, my impressions are pretty similar to what the other reviewers around the interwebs have said. The DAC-80 was definitely a pretty big upgrade leap for me though (I had an ELE EL-D02 before which by the way is a great DAC for the price). Anyways, the DAC-80 is an incredibly smooth, warm, and maybe analog sounding, in a very good way, type of DAC. I was originally thinking about getting a Schiit Modi Multibit (which I have never heard) but decided to get this DAC instead. What attracted me to the Modi was that it was R2R which is generally regarded as smoother and more natural. What made me end up getting the DAC-80 is it's looks and that it also offered a warm and natural sound. I can now say that, after listening to the DAC-80, there isn't any "digital harshness" with the DAC-80 that is associated with delta-sigma DACs. Almost every acoustic instrument sounds absolutely amazing and realistic through the DAC-80. I think that it adds a very nice natural touch without masking any details.
Despite some people being worried/complaining about the older chipset used in this DAC, I don't think it matters. If it sounds good then nothing else really matters that much to me. If you want a clean and detailed yet real sounding DAC I think that this fits the bill very well. The detail retrieval and soundstage is also great for a DAC of this price. With the DT880 600 ohm run out of a Schiit Magni 2 the DAC-80 does a great job taming the brightness of the two other components.
I would say that the DAC-80 is very strong in detail retrieval and soundstage which is what I value the most in a DAC. I've had several instances where I'm listening to a song I've listened to several times and I notice new details that I've never heard before. Even now i sit down and am sometimes amazed by the ability of this DAC to layer and make details more evident. The soundstage is pretty deep forwards and backwards with good imaging. Usually it's pretty easy to imagine where a sound is supposed to sound like it's coming from and where it is in relation to other instruments.
Overall, even if you don't need too much added warmth to your system, I think that the DAC-80 at this price point is one of the best DACs available. It just does it's job so well. However, keep in mind that I'm coming from the view of a cheap DAC. I've heard better DACs, but never owned one. The DAC-80 definitely holds it's own though. Definitely a worthwhile buy if you're looking for a good mid-fi DAC option.
Let me say a little about myself. I haven't been in the audiophile world for super long, so some of the stuff I say/do might seem really dumb or weird. Bear with me, I'm still learning! Anyways, just a little less than a year ago I got my first "real" headphone setup. I had heard good headphones sometimes before, but I never decided to pull the trigger and go in. I'm pretty young so I don't think that my hearing is going bad quite yet. I listen to all kinds of music from pop to rap to classical (common practice period) and everything in-between. I listen to the DAC-80 with a DT880/600 run out of a Schiit Magni 2. My interconnects aren't some super insane high quality unobtanium wires, but they seem to work pretty well for me. Sorry if this invalidates this review for you. I'll try to write about some stuff that isn't already covered in other reviews just so that anybody that's reading through reviews can get the most thorough feel for this DAC absent actually buying it or demoing.
Let me start off with the explanation of the first con I mentioned as it may seem extremely worrisome to some. The popping issue was where I would occasionally hear pops of varying loudness during music playback. It drove me absolutely crazy. I tried several software fixes to no avail. Upsampling the native playback resolution in windows helped a little, but didn't seem to completely solve the issue (I upsampled to 24/192, but now I just keep it at 24/48). What did fix the problem was switching from a USB 3.0 input to a SPDIF optical from my motherboard. I read somewhere that the asynchronous USB 2.0 didn't play well with the USB 3.0 on my motherboard. I didn't dock too many points because I still partly believe that the software issue is just spaghetti coding by Microsoft or something. Also, I don't think that the popping issue was on the DAC-80 side. I think it was more of a software issue on my laptop's side. Hopefully this helps somebody, as this made me go absolutely mad trying to fix. Thankfully, all is good now.
Next I'll go to the physical aspects. If you need pictures there's another review on head-fi with beautiful pictures of this DAC's insides. The nuforce website has good images of the outside. The build quality is okay. I wouldn't give it full stars as if you tap on the DAC is makes sort of a weird cheap box ringing noise, but I'm not sure if this is true for all of the DAC-80s. Also this is sort of a non-issue as I don't tap my DAC all day or really ever. The texture of the finish on the DAC-80 is very nice and also looks nice. Just looking at the DAC, it's a fine piece. But really, it's just a silver box with some vent holes and pretty lights on the front. Nice minimalist look which some people enjoy and others don't. I'm one that does enjoy it. The physical footprint isn't too big, although if you're limited on desk space it might not be the best choice to buy.
The power cable is very thick and sturdy with a huge ferrite choke on it. It doesn't have any issue with coming loose, although this may change with age (a decade down the road). It kind of looks like the connector on the DAC-80 is falling out, but it juts sort of sits a little further outside compared to other electronics and isn't actually falling out. It's pretty firmly attached. There's also a provided USB A to USB B cord, but it's kind of bad and pretty short.
The source sample rate and bit depth labels are super hard to read, but again I don't really care since I know what the sample rate and bit depth is of my music and I don't need my DAC to tell me. The input source lights are pretty easy to see if your DAC isn't too far away. One sort of big thing that I like about the lights is that they're not ridiculously bright and that I don't need to cover them with electrical tape or something. Both the blue and white varieties of the sample rate/bit depth lights don't blind me and fill my room with light when the ceiling lights are off.
The remote is just a remote. I think that it could've been a little better designed but it's whatever. I just view it as something extra. It is somewhat useful though. To turn on the DAC-80 you just have to press the volume knob button. However once on, a short press of the volume knob button just switches the input source. To put the DAC-80 into standby mode (the DAC doesn't really turn off fully unless you switch the power on the back or unplug it) you have to hold down the volume knob button for five seconds. With the remote you can just press the "off" button which is nice I suppose.
Just few things about the remote, it has to be pointed at either the front of the DAC (where the lights and volume knob are) or from above towards the vent holes. To clarify, you have to be either standing in front of the DAC or be above the DAC and aim towards the front. For some reason, being in the plane of the DAC (horizontal to the DAC) and using the remote from the sides or back does not work. I never tested from below, but I think this is pretty impractical anyways. It was kind of hard to describe the directions, but I tried my best. Also, the remote seems to have a pretty decent range (at least two meters) as long as you're in a place where the signal can reach the receiver as mentioned above.
Also, the volume knob is not motorized so the physical position of the volume knob and the actual volume knob can be un-synchronized and if you move the volume knob physically it'll jump to that volume indicated by the volume knob regardless of how you changed it through the remote. Basically the danger here is that if you use the remote to lower the volume a ton and then you move the knob the volume will jump up and possibly damage something/someone. If that's confusing read the other reviews, they explain it better.
Just in case anybody is curious, the DAC-80 doesn't run very warm. It's never been hot to the touch although it definitely does generate some heat since it's warmer than plain room temperature. The Schiit Magni 2 definitely runs warmer (just as a reference point) which is to be expected. I have the volume knob on max if that matters at all.
Before I go any further I'll mention that I have my windows sound volume at 100%, my player software volume at 100% (to my knowledge is bit perfect without attenuation or gain), the DAC-80 at full volume (4V RMS through RCA I think), and my Schiit Magni 2 at around 9 o'clock which is kind of low. I have no idea if these are the optimal settings, but hey it sounds good so whatever. However, this might not work for everybody since the DT880/600 aren't the easiest headphones to run and even still I don't get too much leeway on the volume knob with the Schiit Magni 2. I get enough though without running my volume too far down into any channel imbalance issues.
As for the sound of the DAC, my impressions are pretty similar to what the other reviewers around the interwebs have said. The DAC-80 was definitely a pretty big upgrade leap for me though (I had an ELE EL-D02 before which by the way is a great DAC for the price). Anyways, the DAC-80 is an incredibly smooth, warm, and maybe analog sounding, in a very good way, type of DAC. I was originally thinking about getting a Schiit Modi Multibit (which I have never heard) but decided to get this DAC instead. What attracted me to the Modi was that it was R2R which is generally regarded as smoother and more natural. What made me end up getting the DAC-80 is it's looks and that it also offered a warm and natural sound. I can now say that, after listening to the DAC-80, there isn't any "digital harshness" with the DAC-80 that is associated with delta-sigma DACs. Almost every acoustic instrument sounds absolutely amazing and realistic through the DAC-80. I think that it adds a very nice natural touch without masking any details.
Despite some people being worried/complaining about the older chipset used in this DAC, I don't think it matters. If it sounds good then nothing else really matters that much to me. If you want a clean and detailed yet real sounding DAC I think that this fits the bill very well. The detail retrieval and soundstage is also great for a DAC of this price. With the DT880 600 ohm run out of a Schiit Magni 2 the DAC-80 does a great job taming the brightness of the two other components.
I would say that the DAC-80 is very strong in detail retrieval and soundstage which is what I value the most in a DAC. I've had several instances where I'm listening to a song I've listened to several times and I notice new details that I've never heard before. Even now i sit down and am sometimes amazed by the ability of this DAC to layer and make details more evident. The soundstage is pretty deep forwards and backwards with good imaging. Usually it's pretty easy to imagine where a sound is supposed to sound like it's coming from and where it is in relation to other instruments.
Overall, even if you don't need too much added warmth to your system, I think that the DAC-80 at this price point is one of the best DACs available. It just does it's job so well. However, keep in mind that I'm coming from the view of a cheap DAC. I've heard better DACs, but never owned one. The DAC-80 definitely holds it's own though. Definitely a worthwhile buy if you're looking for a good mid-fi DAC option.
