[sridhar3]

Quote:

There's better for the money though I'd still like a Phonitor for the pretty gauges and dials.

 
What would you consider better for the money, out of curiosity?

I pretty much bought it because of the pretty gauges and dials.  Oh, and the crossfeed's a neat little magic trick.  It's a cool toy.

 

[brat]

Quote:

 
Doubtful. And that would then depend on his source. 


Brat (I feel rude), could you please elaborate the setup you heard the ODAC on, and what you did not like about it?
 
 
EDIT: I meant upstream of his DAC (audio files/media players).

Now my usual systems are:
 
1.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->Violectric V200-->Audez'e LCD-2r2 / AKG K701
2.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->SDaudio DX801 integrated stereo amp (made by the founder of Analog Domain )-->Duevel Planets speakers
 
The ODAC was not transparent at all. During swaps between my dac and ODAC I always felt like 40% ot the sound information disappeared, The ODAC sounded flat and two-dimentional. It may be better measured than most of the cheap soundcards but it sounds pretty the same to me And note: I'm NOT a detail lover at all! I just miss a large part of the musical information with this ODAC. It's not a bad source at all, maybe it is good for the money but this is just a mediocre usb dac. Do not delude yourself that it's something more than this. Sorry if I'm rude but I'm honest at least. It's always useful to have honest opinions to avoid some illusions...

 

[gnarlsagan]

Quote:

Now my usual systems are:
 
1.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->Violectric V200-->Audez'e LCD-2r2 / AKG K701
2.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->SDaudio DX801 integrated stereo amp (made by the founder of Analog Domain )-->Duevel Planets speakers
 
The ODAC was not transparent at all. During swaps between my dac and ODAC I always felt like 40% ot the sound information disappeared, The ODAC sounded flat and two-dimentional. It may be better measured than most of the cheap soundcards but it sounds pretty the same to me And note: I'm NOT a detail lover at all! I just miss a large part of the musical information with this ODAC. It's not a bad source at all, maybe it is good for the money but this is just a mediocre usb dac. Do not delude yourself that it's something more than this. Sorry if I'm rude but I'm honest at least. It's always useful to have honest opinions to avoid some illusions...

 
What part of the frequency spectrum disappeared? The bass? What kinds of specific things could you no longer hear in the music? Maybe a background noise like a pedal or a breath perhaps...

 

[Deathwish238]

Quote:

Now my usual systems are:
 
1.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->Violectric V200-->Audez'e LCD-2r2 / AKG K701
2.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->SDaudio DX801 integrated stereo amp (made by the founder of Analog Domain )-->Duevel Planets speakers
 
The ODAC was not transparent at all. During swaps between my dac and ODAC I always felt like 40% ot the sound information disappeared, The ODAC sounded flat and two-dimentional. It may be better measured than most of the cheap soundcards but it sounds pretty the same to me And note: I'm NOT a detail lover at all! I just miss a large part of the musical information with this ODAC. It's not a bad source at all, maybe it is good for the money but this is just a mediocre usb dac. Do not delude yourself that it's something more than this. Sorry if I'm rude but I'm honest at least. It's always useful to have honest opinions to avoid some illusions...

 
lol 40%? Are you telling me 90% of people commenting in this thread about their impressions have absolutely no idea what they're talking about?
I've never heard the Weis or the ODAC, but both having a similar ESS chip it would be amazing to hear that much of a difference. What would you recommend for $200, opposed to the $7000 Weis?
 
 
 

Now my usual systems are:
 
1.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->Violectric V200-->Audez'e LCD-2r2 / AKG K701
2.PC (Windows 7 64bit, foobar2000(KS), lossless files or CDs)-->firewire/USB-->Weis DAC202U (with Furman Elite 16 PFEi power codnitioner)-->SDaudio DX801 integrated stereo amp (made by the founder of Analog Domain )-->Duevel Planets speakers
 
The ODAC was not transparent at all. During swaps between my dac and ODAC I always felt like 40% ot the sound information disappeared, The ODAC sounded flat and two-dimentional. It may be better measured than most of the cheap soundcards but it sounds pretty the same to me  And note: I'm NOT a detail lover at all! I just miss a large part of the musical information with this ODAC. It's not a bad source at all, maybe it is good for the money but this is just a mediocre usb dac. Do not delude yourself that it's something more than this. Sorry if I'm rude but I'm honest at least. It's always useful to have honest opinions to avoid some illusions...
 
 

 
How can you not be a detail lover? What then do you love about music to spend more on a DAC than most people do on a home theater setup?

 

[brat]

Quote:

 
What part of the frequency spectrum disappeared? The bass? What kinds of specific things could you no longer hear in the music? Maybe a background noise like a pedal or a breath perhaps...

It's not a part of the audible frequencies... it's difficult to explain. ODAC gives all the music but in a more "schematic" manner, with less details, less realism, less 3D. I and two friends of mine have made direct comparison with my dac and two AD1860-based DIY dacs (about $150 each) and all they were far better than the ODAC. The difference was huge. The three dacs had similar sonic characteristics and the ODAC was quite different. It sounded right and had correct FR but nothing more.
I don't want to make some owners unhappy but it's good for the future users to know that this dac is not a giant killer at all.

 

[fenderf4i]

If you're so sure of this, then take NwAvGuy up on his blind test challenge.

 

[ChicaneBT]

Quote:

It's not a part of the audible frequencies... it's difficult to explain. ODAC gives all the music but in a more "schematic" manner, with less details, less realism, less 3D. I and two friends of mine have made direct comparison with my dac and two AD1860-based DIY dacs (about $150 each) and all they were far better than the ODAC. The difference was huge. The three dacs had similar sonic characteristics and the ODAC was quite different. It sounded right and had correct FR but nothing more.
I don't want to make some owners unhappy but it's good for the future users to know that this dac is not a giant killer at all.

Which DIY DAC's?

 

[brat]

I'm open to all kinds of tests. Give me a link, please.

 

[lukeahale]

Quote:

it's not a part of the audible frequencies...

Uh.... I know this MIGHT just be nitpicking, but... Don't you think that's a bit of a terrible way to start an explanation about how something sounds...

 

[brat]

Quote:

Uh.... I know this MIGHT just be nitpicking, but... Don't you think that's a bit of a terrible way to start an explanation about how something sounds...

What I mean is that ODAC has no audible FR problems (Benchmark DAC1 has substantial bass deficit for instance).

 

[lukeahale]

Quote:

What I mean is that ODAC has no audible FR problems (Benchmark DAC1 has substantial bass deficit for instance).

I see.  Well to this I have a follow-up question.  Could you perhaps provide a link or other evidence to show this dip in the freq response of the DAC1?(because to me deficit means it would drop below flat, not that it doesn't have a boost in the bass region)

 

[brat]

Quote:

I see.  Well to this I have a follow-up question.  Could you perhaps provide a link or other evidence to show this dip in the freq response of the DAC1?

No, I can't. I doubt I will find visible proof for this audible fact You know that FR graphs of all contemporary digital sources are pretty the same in the bass area (they're almost flat in the whole audible area in fact). But all we hear the FR differences between sources. I think everyone here who has listened to Benchmark DAC1 will agree that it has somewhat anemic bass compared to many other popular (and also well measured) digital sources. Anyone who thinks that DAC1 is a bass monster?

 

[fenderf4i]

You're just proving that anything you say has no merit whatsoever. Keep going!

Also, this is something funny you said, which seems to contradict what you're saying here. http://www.head-fi.org/t/584339/review-resolution-audio-cantata-music-center-dac-cd-player/60#post_8508122

Are all DAC's close, or is there a 40% difference???

 

[lukeahale]

Maybe he means all DACs are close only in the unimportant audible frequencies, and the 40% difference applies to that oh-so-critical "not part of the audible frequencies" aspect of the sound.
 
I'm all ears (err...eyes?) Mr. brat.  Please, expand our minds.

 

[Rithrin]

Quote:

What I mean is that ODAC has no audible FR problems (Benchmark DAC1 has substantial bass deficit for instance).

 
Lololololol. 
 
The Benchmark Dac1 was my favorite DAC after hearing it FOUR years ago before all this fuss started. Then I got into head-fi. It was pretty clear even before NwAvGuy showed up it was pretty much the best the market had to offer (especially at its time).
 
NwAvGuy literally shut down AN ENTIRE shrouded and illusioned "Hi Fi" market. It is no more. All that exists are those who like $1200 + tubes, which are NOT accurate representations of music.
 
Have fun with your tubes. The other 3,600 of us who've bought ODAC's now, will shut up quiet and continue to enjoy our ODACs, (which is for all practical intents the most accurate DAC on the planet) which I HAVE BLIND TESTED with others against the Benchmark Dac1.
 
Go read NwAvGuys blog or read Innerfidelity and it's confirmation and affirmation of all the [practical / truthful] measurements.
 
Voldemort did a big service to the entire "Hi Fi" community that was throwing money away (myself included [10's of thousands of dollars in headphone, dacs, estats, all of them, you name it, all the way up to Orpheus] for the last four years) is sure to reverberate for years and perhaps decades to come. The fools and the uneducated will continue to throw money away, and that is it. Many have moved on and have not commented about the odac. Those are hard numbers by the way.
 
If you like your music colored or are used to your speakers or headphones then so be it. The rest of us will enjoy an inarguably as near humanly (practically) perfect DAC you can get. And for nothing, pretty well as a gift, almost no money! [Not that 100-150$ doesn't hold value] But for many of us, we're more than grateful this is the new ceiling. There is no reason to spend more for the everyday, casual, or deciphering engineer.
 
Price means just as much as performance. Fortunately here you get the MAXIMUM of both. Less than 3% of odac owners have said anything about it. We're all just amazed, and now we all know that everybody already knows about it anyway.
 
The rest (others) are a dying breed. (And good riddance to spending 2+ - 10K or more on individual setups.
 
The best part is the ODAC can dac anything, from Speakers to dynamics to EStats, it does it all. 
 
Source first, then headphones / w/e casual listening medium you'll use. Your source can make almost anything sound good.
Even a little cheesy 2.1 speaker setup, which I've finally downgraded to. The ODAC has allowed me [and literal hordes of others] to move on with my life.