Brief Odac impressions

[FlySweep]

Got my ODAC this afternoon, as well.  In the short time I've had with it, I'm incredibly impressed.  As noted, the DAC's output is pretty hefty.  Using my customs with the O2 (default 2.3x gain) & ODAC, I can't push the volume much past 8 o'clock.  It still sounds spectacular, though.  As far as build quality and looks.. I really like it.  The brushed (c421) case is beautiful.. I'd love to have the O2 in a similar case.  The ODAC's clarity, resolution, and dynamics are excellent.  The quality of sound this 'little' rig delivers is frighteningly good.
 
Looking forward to running it with the Paradox & HE-500, next.

 

[Anaxilus]

Just got mine too, I'll have a better idea in a few days.

 

[jono454]

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Just got mine too, I'll have a better idea in a few days.

 
Would love to see how the ODAC goes up against your PS Audio

 

[SoupRKnowva]

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Would love to see how the ODAC goes up against your PS Audio

lol a 100 dollar dac going up against a 4000 dollar dac....thats real fair

 

[maverickronin]

It depends...
 
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HD800  -  O2 and ODAC vs. Eddie Current Balancing Act (TRS jack) and Modwright Sony XA5400ES

The HD800’s best trait is its soundstage and imaging.  It has just the right amount of width and plenty of depth to the soundstage and does out of head projection quite well.  The BA/Modwright combo imparted a reverb-like effect which the Objective combo lacked.  It increased the perceived space a bit but it also blurred the imaging a bit.

The HD800’s FR OTOH could use some work.  It peaks in the upper bass and slowly rolls off in each direction which IMO emphasizes the wrong frequencies reducing its perceived tightness and even bordering on bloated with the BA (presumably because of its extra output impedance) and messing up the imaging when the music gets busy.  The O2 had tighter bass and kept the imaging together better but the HD800 lagged behind the HE-6/EF-6 in those areas either way.
 
The midrange was liquid smooth on both setups but the BA imparted a bit more viscosity.

  I found the upper mids a bit too sucked out as women hitting the high notes in Jpop faded into the distance. The O2 may have been ahead by a hair here but I’m not really sure.

The treble remains strong and is quite well behaved except for a hint of grain and the rough spot around ~6khz which only stands out as troublesome in comparison because the rest of it is so good.  Something will excite it occasionally but it more annoying than outright painful.  The BA took some of the edge off the treble and the treble didn’t make a nuisance of itself known as quite as often.

Overall I’d take the Objective combo since I prefer its tighter bass, better separation, and sharper imaging over the BA/Modwright’s slightly bigger soundstage and I could probably mod away just as much, if not more, of the HD800’s treble issue as the BA fixed.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

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It depends...
 

modwright tube derps notwithstanding lol the perfectwave dac is a respectably engineered product, no reason to lump them together

 

[Anaxilus]

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Lol

 

[maverickronin]

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modwright tube derps notwithstanding lol the perfectwave dac is a respectably engineered product, no reason to lump them together

 
You're the one going by price. 

 
But yeah, otherwise, probably not.

 

[sphinxvc]

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Impressions soon-ish, eh?

 
Unfortunately my aural microscope the HD800 is with a friend at the moment, so I will reserve proper impressions for now.  Unless the LCD-2 actually manages to resolve a difference between DACs.  We shall see.
 
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Got my ODAC this afternoon, as well.  In the short time I've had with it, I'm incredibly impressed.  As noted, the DAC's output is pretty hefty.  Using my customs with the O2 (default 2.3x gain) & ODAC, I can't push the volume much past 8 o'clock.  It still sounds spectacular, though.  As far as build quality and looks.. I really like it.  The brushed (c421) case is beautiful.. I'd love to have the O2 in a similar case.  The ODAC's clarity, resolution, and dynamics are excellent.  The quality of sound this 'little' rig delivers is frighteningly good.
 
Looking forward to running it with the Paradox & HE-500, next.

 
The O2 I received today looks like it has a cosmetically different face plate than my first two O2s--so there might have been an effort made to match the two units together.  Agree with you though that if the O2 had the same black brushed case it would have been perfect. 
 
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It depends...

 
I'm with you on this, anything can happen.  I too look forward to hearing any PWD comparisons that may float down.  

 

[jono454]

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lol a 100 dollar dac going up against a 4000 dollar dac....thats real fair

lol i know it's not fair but people have compared the ODAC to the benchmark DACS and as i recall those bad boys are roughly in the $1000 range.
 
I'm quite sure the PS Audio will outshine the ODAC but it'd be an interesting comparison and a more rewarding feeling to know that your $150 DAC can hold it's ground against a $4000 DAC
 
BTW judging by the look of the PS Audio i had a feeling it was going to be at least $1000 but i had no idea it was going to be 4000...that's crazy lol

 

[bobeau]

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lol i know it's not fair but people have compared the ODAC to the benchmark DACS and as i recall those bad boys are roughly in the $1000 range.

 
I haven't read too much of the back and forth in the forums on the ODAC, but it is worth noting that the creator specifically talks about testing against his own Benchmark DAC, failing a blind test, etc.
 
I have to say, it's a pretty amazing unit (I have the O2/ODAC combo and haven't heard the ODAC by itself).  I can't comment about any back-to-back tests against other DACs but I was coming from a Metrum Octave -> AP2 -> WA6SE maxxed -> Thunderpants, I can't definitely say one setup is better than the other, but I'm also not listening back to back either so take this for what it is worth: my gut from auditory memory is the big desktop setup was harder hitting, involving, and better sense of depth (more dynamic?), but transparency/accuracy, maybe even tonality, might be in the little transportable's favor.  It's taken me by surprise actually.  It kills me that I'm probably going to have to resell it.. the whole reason I picked it up in the first place is I'm now a remote contractor, but I'm rarely in one spot for more than a couple hours so I'm probably going to ditch all my gear and get some IEMs into my iPhone.

 

[mac336]

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I haven't read too much of the back and forth in the forums on the ODAC, but it is worth noting that the creator specifically talks about testing against his own Benchmark DAC, failing a blind test, etc.

 
 
You're saying he found that the ODAC sounded better than the benchmark?
 

 

[SoupRKnowva]

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You're saying he found that the ODAC sounded better than the benchmark?
 

 
no hes saying the voldemort says that they failed a DBT meaning they sounded the same, not that one was better than the other

 

[draven5494]

I received mine today and first impression is that the ODAC is definitely leaps and bounds better than the DAC in my Auzentech Forte soundcard.  My setup is like this:  Foobar (WASAPI) - ODAC - Matrix m-stage - Q701s.  
 
There really is no comparison when it comes to the clarity and image separation.  The ODAC cleans up the upper range of the treble as well.  On my Forte, it would just mush that section into a distorted mess.  The ODAC is much better in that regard.
 
I do have one issue though.  I seem to be missing a good deal of bass while using the ODAC.  The Q701s are not bass-heavy in the least but with my Forte they handled that area quite well.  On the ODAC the bass definitely sounds tighter but it also seems that some of the sub-bass is missing.  I am just not getting that rumble in certain songs like I do with the Forte.
 
I am going to let it play for a while to see if it changes.
 
Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[alphaphoenix]

So, the issue with bass is quantity versus quality, right?  If so, the result has been my experience with the few DACs (range $50-$1200) I've listened too personally at at local meets.  You may have to change the opamp in the M-Stage, tweak with EQ, and/or change headphones to get the same bass quantity you heard before, but in the process risk changing other areas in the sound.