FIRST IMPRESSIONS: NEW Nuforce uDAC-2 with 24/96 - USB DAC AMP with line out and S/PDIF out
Aug 7, 2010 at 1:20 PM Post #46 of 877
Nice to see nuForce continually looking to improve their product line.  I had purchased a uDAC when it was first offered in Amazon last year on the strength of HeadphoneAddict's initial review and had been happy with it for my intro to better audio.  Can't wait to see what the uDAC-2 brings to the table. 
 
Aug 8, 2010 at 4:09 AM Post #48 of 877
I heard that the volume knob still affected the volume of the setup when used as laptop -> udac through rca -> amp -> headphone. Does the uDac2 still have this issue or does it act as solely a DAC when used in the same setup replace the uDac with the uDac2?
 
Aug 8, 2010 at 1:31 PM Post #49 of 877
uDAC-2 volume pot affects the output of the RCA jacks, like a passive pre-amp.  This is useful for driving the Nuforce Icon Amp (24w x 2) or amplified desktop speakers.  The quality is good enough that I believe it doesn't degrade the sound when feeding the RCA signal into another amp with a volume control.  I just set the receiving amp to about 80% volume and use the uDAC or uDAC-2 to do all the volume controlling.
 
Aug 9, 2010 at 6:33 PM Post #50 of 877
Quote:
uDAC-2 volume pot affects the output of the RCA jacks, like a passive pre-amp.  This is useful for driving the Nuforce Icon Amp (24w x 2) or amplified desktop speakers.  The quality is good enough that I believe it doesn't degrade the sound when feeding the RCA signal into another amp with a volume control.  I just set the receiving amp to about 80% volume and use the uDAC or uDAC-2 to do all the volume controlling.


Sorry for sounding ignorant, but how would you choose between using the uDAC-2's volume pot vs. your headphone amp's volume pot? I'm currently feeding the uDAC-2 to an M-Stage via the RCA out jacks. I originally thought that the uDAC-2's RCA output was straight line out, but I noticed that the volume knob does indeed change the RCA output volume.
 
Also, does anyone know which Sabre chip is being used in the uDAC-2? I've looked all over their website, but I can't seem to find the specs. Maybe I'm just missing an obvious link...
 
Aug 9, 2010 at 9:20 PM Post #51 of 877


Quote:
....The only downside I can think of is that uDAC-2 doesn't work with the iPad which wont support a USB DAC that goes higher than 48Khz (with camera connection kit)....


This is disappointing as I just bought an iPad and was looking to use the uDAC-2, especially with the improved volume pot.  Understanding that it usually doesn't make sense to offer two products (uDAC & uDAC-2) with similar price points, I still wonder if they would offer a version of the improved uDAC-2 that would be compatible with the iPad.
 
Aug 9, 2010 at 10:19 PM Post #52 of 877
 
Quote:
This is disappointing as I just bought an iPad and was looking to use the uDAC-2, especially with the improved volume pot.  Understanding that it usually doesn't make sense to offer two products (uDAC & uDAC-2) with similar price points, I still wonder if they would offer a version of the improved uDAC-2 that would be compatible with the iPad.


That would be a uDac-1 with the improved volume pot, not a bad idea.
 
Aug 10, 2010 at 2:52 AM Post #53 of 877


Quote:
Many of you have written wonderful reviews on Amazon.com for uDAC but we have no way of finding out who you are.
For those of you who purchased uDAC-2, please post your review on Amazon.com AND EMAIL US (directsales@nuforce.com) so we know who you are and will like to send you a gift.  We want to offer a nice gesture of appreciation but not so much that it appears we are buying reviews.
If you are existing uDAC customers that have posted reviews and would like to upgrade to uDAC-2, we will like to handle your upgrade asap and encourage you to post a follow up review.
 
Thanks
Jason



Hi Jason, quick question.
 
Do we email you if you've written a review on Amazon on the uDAC1 and are thinking about upgrading to the uDAC2?
 
Thanks, Brendan
 
Aug 10, 2010 at 1:20 PM Post #54 of 877
Jason, I don't think I saved a copy of my Amazon review, which was more concise and "to the point" than on head-fi.  How do we recover this information, so we can update it to the uDAC-2?
 
EDIT - never mind, I did save a copy.
 
Aug 10, 2010 at 4:49 PM Post #55 of 877


Quote:
This is disappointing as I just bought an iPad and was looking to use the uDAC-2, especially with the improved volume pot.  Understanding that it usually doesn't make sense to offer two products (uDAC & uDAC-2) with similar price points, I still wonder if they would offer a version of the improved uDAC-2 that would be compatible with the iPad.

 
Apple never officially certify iPad for USB Audio.  The current iOS has problem detecting > 16bit/48kHz devices in a certain way and according to our source, Apple is working on a fix.  But we do not know when iOS will support USB Audio. May be the fix will be added to the next iOS patch, nobody knows.  As soon as we have information, we'll post it here and on our website.
 
 
Aug 10, 2010 at 4:55 PM Post #56 of 877

 
Quote:
Hi Jason, quick question.
 
Do we email you if you've written a review on Amazon on the uDAC1 and are thinking about upgrading to the uDAC2?
 
Thanks, Brendan


Email directsales@Nuforce.com and tell us your Amazon.com order ID and also the user ID you used to post the review.  uDAC was such a success that there are so many reviews on Amazon.com but once the product is not on sale, those reviews are hard to access. They can be found at:
http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B002VNIRWM
and http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B002VN9CRG
 
 
Aug 12, 2010 at 2:27 AM Post #58 of 877
I just purchased an udac-1.  I would love to post a review for udac-2 on Amazon.  Do I qualify for an upgrade asap instead of waiting to october?  
 
Quote:
Many of you have written wonderful reviews on Amazon.com for uDAC but we have no way of finding out who you are.
For those of you who purchased uDAC-2, please post your review on Amazon.com AND EMAIL US (directsales@nuforce.com) so we know who you are and will like to send you a gift.  We want to offer a nice gesture of appreciation but not so much that it appears we are buying reviews.
If you are existing uDAC customers that have posted reviews and would like to upgrade to uDAC-2, we will like to handle your upgrade asap and encourage you to post a follow up review.
 
Thanks
Jason



 
Aug 12, 2010 at 4:40 AM Post #59 of 877
I have to say that the synergy of the uDAC-2 with my Westone ES5 is stunning.  With the ES5 it sounds very much like the DACport 24/96, but for 1/3 the price.  The detail, ambience, speed and immersion are top notch and I preferred the ES5 with the uDAC-2 more than my JH13Pro (gasp).
 
It's not that way with all phones or IEM, and with other phones these amps sound a bit different, but this is an IEM that I listened to a lot on vacation this past week.  I've been on vacation since last week and just got back in time for the Colorado head-fi meet, so I'm sorry that my impressions are delayed.  I need to compare all of my IEM and full-size phones again with the uDAC-2 vs DACport, and report back. 
 
Aug 12, 2010 at 7:17 AM Post #60 of 877
Great, I'm from the Netherlands and very interested in this DAC. Which partner in the Netherlands are you working with? I might get it directly off them if possible.
 
Quote:
 

We might be able to offer it through our new distribution partner in Netherlands. They are not setup for taking orders directly for upgrade yet.
You will have to pay for international shipping again, but we can ship by USPS Priority Mail Envelop for the tiny board which cost about $15 or less in shipping.



 

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