[mnarwold]

Quote:

Question: Is it worth getting the Odac if I am only going to be listening to music through hi end speakers? I will be never be using headphones. Sound is going out from a PC realtek card right now, and it sounds fine to me. 

I think it also depends on how much critical listening you do. In critical listening, you should be able to hear a difference, especially with nice speakers. If you have music in the background while doing other things, you would probably never hear a difference. It also depends on what you listen to. From my onboard soundcard I can't tell the difference between lossless and 128kbps or even 24b/96k versus 128kbps, but I can tell the difference between them using the ODAC and my O2. So, if all your music is compressed, might not help much, but it helped me get the extra quality out of the higher bitrate files. Your mileage may vary.
Matt

 

[adydula]

What are your high end speakers?
 
Alex

 

[spatzi]

My speakers are the KEF LS50's. Player is jriver, bit perfect mode. Analog out from pc to rca. Files are a mix of flac and vbr mp3's ripped through dbpoweramp. The only computer noise i can hear is if the amp is full blast, but this is 95 % over my listening level as I am in an apartment.

The weak point in this set up is the amp (older Panasonic sa he-70). Was debating if i should upgrade receiver first to Cambridge azur 651A which has a usb in. ($650) Don't know how much this is going to make a difference either over the amp I have.

Music would be ambient, acoustic, jazz, fusion, soundtracks. Listening to music while working on computer or reading.

 

[adydula]

spatzi...
 
Kool...I have a 2 ch setup with Salk SongTowers connected to an AVA Insight + Preamp to a AVA UltraValve amp. The amp is 35 watts.
 
The source can be cd's via an Oppo BD83SE direct or a HTPC flacs via USB Dac etc...
 
I have so many routes and combinations I have a connection diagram I use to keep it all straight....lol.
 
The pre amp I use has a headphone amp, and its excellent.
 
I agree for background listening almost any material is ok etc....
 
I use JRiver as well...bitperfect with several dacs.
 
All are so very close in sound etc...I really have a hard time discerning them from one another.
 
All the best
Alex

 

[shrews]

so I was reading a post about someone using ODAC with no amp, straight to the headphones...would this work with shure srh-840 or is it a bad/stupid idea ? It would be ideal for me as I wouldn't really need an amp otherwise...after plugging the headphones in the hp jack of my iphone 4 and cranking up the volume, it is way too loud and I failed to notice significant improvements using a LOD (which to my surprise is also rather loud unamped).
In any case until I read that post I was of the idea that it was not possible for a standalone dac to work without an amp, and I was thinking of combining the dac with something affordable like the pa2v2.
I'm probably missing something (heaps!) here, any help is very much appreciated...

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

so I was reading a post about someone using ODAC with no amp, straight to the headphones...would this work with shure srh-840 or is it a bad/stupid idea ? It would be ideal for me as I wouldn't really need an amp otherwise...after plugging the headphones in the hp jack of my iphone 4 and cranking up the volume, it is way too loud and I failed to notice significant improvements using a LOD (which to my surprise is also rather loud unamped).
In any case until I read that post I was of the idea that it was not possible for a standalone dac to work without an amp, and I was thinking of combining the dac with something affordable like the pa2v2.
I'm probably missing something (heaps!) here, any help is very much appreciated...

 
On the operating instructions that come with the ODAC, it specifies that you should not connect headphones into the 3.5mm jack on the ODAC, and that you absolutely need an amp.

 

[lorriman]

so I was reading a post about someone using ODAC with no amp, straight to the headphones...would this work with shure srh-840 or is it a bad/stupid idea ?

There's voltage/signal but no power (current). You need power to get that voice-coil moving. So, yes it may give audio but likely with major distortion and compression, possible even overheat the ODAC when plugged in to a low-impedance headphones.

It depends on the srh840, but you might be able to get away with a FII0 E5 for $25, which the O2 designer tested and is near hifi (just a tiny bit of noise, but I doubt it would be detectable with those phones). However I don't know the power requirement of those phones.

 

[adydula]

The ODAC was designed to be used with an amplifier....
 
Alex

 

[shrews]

alrighty then, thanks very much for the replies! I think I'll try out the odac-e5 combo then, and if it's not great I'll probably end up getting an O2. In any case looks like I've some time to decide since it's out of stock till march (uk version). thanks again!

 

[Kirnupiima]

Ordered mine from Head 'n' HiFi, already shipped! Can't wait And it comes in red

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

alrighty then, thanks very much for the replies! I think I'll try out the odac-e5 combo then, and if it's not great I'll probably end up getting an O2. In any case looks like I've some time to decide since it's out of stock till march (uk version). thanks again!

Yeah the e5 is definitely gonna choke that chain. Spend a little more is my advice.

 

[Shultz]

Just received my Odac from Headnhifi, works great on the lappy, but my Nexus7 doesn't seem to offer enough power for it (a sabre based dac works fine) so wondering if anybodies made a rechargable usb hub or such like to boost it as where I sit to listen to music doesn't have mains nearby and with a young child a trailing lead is a no-no lol
 

 

[Poimandres]

Does anyone have the dacport lx and the odac? Looking for some comparisons.

 

[mac336]

what is the best method for connecting my ipad to the ODAC
 

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

what is the best method for connecting my ipad to the ODAC
 

 
USB?