Can Junkie
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2012
- Posts
- 71
- Likes
- 11
Well I have wanted a DAC for some time now since getting into the Head-Fi hobby. I found a brand new Icon UDAC-2 at a local Best Buy for $120. (Look it up on best buy site to see if it is in a store near you if interested) My Dell home computer is a little picky on external audo devices so it took a little work to get it to work properly.(Dell goes to DAC now automatically when DAC in plugged in and goes back to my speaker system when unplugged, sweet!!). Power is upplied via the USB which is was nice. I auditioned the DAC with my M50's alone and then with my Ramsey super stereo headphone amp. While the M50's are great, to be honest, they sound flat with out the Ramsey amp and this is the case with the DAC too. The amp really opens up both the top end and bottom end.
On to the DAC's performance. As reported by others, the amp side of the DAC is a little weak. If you want to jam out, make sure your source is capable of some good output cause the UDAC-2 will not fill your cans out. My amp had no problem making up the difference from even weak sources. I was expecting a little more of a difference than I experienced both on my HP laptop and Dell Tower. Bass seems about the same, However.......the difference is very notable up top. As others have found, the sound stage of M50's can leave you wanting a little more at times. I was very pleasantly supprised as the sound stage really opend up with the DAC-2 in line. I would describe it as opening up the sound stage about 20% and moving it slightly forward. I found this to be a vast improvment as only "Recorded Live" tracks seemed to really appeal to me before life with out the DAC. Build quality is excellent and while it's specs are no match for the higher end stuff, it will not set you back nearly as much as the high end stuff. I have 30 days to make up my mind but I am gravitating towards keeping this little black box. Thanks for reading.
Eric (newbee,..LOL but enjoying being up here)
On to the DAC's performance. As reported by others, the amp side of the DAC is a little weak. If you want to jam out, make sure your source is capable of some good output cause the UDAC-2 will not fill your cans out. My amp had no problem making up the difference from even weak sources. I was expecting a little more of a difference than I experienced both on my HP laptop and Dell Tower. Bass seems about the same, However.......the difference is very notable up top. As others have found, the sound stage of M50's can leave you wanting a little more at times. I was very pleasantly supprised as the sound stage really opend up with the DAC-2 in line. I would describe it as opening up the sound stage about 20% and moving it slightly forward. I found this to be a vast improvment as only "Recorded Live" tracks seemed to really appeal to me before life with out the DAC. Build quality is excellent and while it's specs are no match for the higher end stuff, it will not set you back nearly as much as the high end stuff. I have 30 days to make up my mind but I am gravitating towards keeping this little black box. Thanks for reading.
Eric (newbee,..LOL but enjoying being up here)
