[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif it wasnt me that talked about them and the hd650s. Also I really dont find them to have recessed mids and fizzy highs. They are actually more tubelike than my other past dacs. They are slightly soft sounding if anything. You really must have gotten a lemon.

Oops - sorry. Just did a search now and that was from a couple of other people, one of whom was merely responding to you. Sorry about that.

I didn't find that all the mids were recessed - almost the opposite, in fact, as I have always said that it was a bit aggressive soudning - but the mids in the vocal range were definitely recessed and a bit "hollow" sounding on mine - in comparison to the more neutral v-dac and dac-extasy.

Same for the highs. They were definitely thinner and fizzy sounding in comparison to the other two dacs, which were more accurate in that range. A lot of the detail of strings especially was just plain missing on the uDAC, leading to an artificial sound there. They didn't sound realistically like strings, at least in comparison to the other dacs. That's what led me to say once that I could almost hear the "dropouts." A lot of the information is just not there. Maybe some have called that "rolled off" (again with the terminology problems) -- and maybe in fact the highs are a little rolled off -- but a lot of the frequency actually seems to be there, just in a thinner, fizzier way that makes it sound less realistic, to my ears at least.

 

[donunus]

yah the highs are a little smoothed out I can agree with that. The terms are what people get confused with again. fizzy? it almost sounds like tizzy which actually means artificial brightness. But it could mean fuzzy (slightly lacking in detail and smoothed out) which could mean closer to how the udac sounds.

What the udac can get that other budget dacs have a hard time with is a good midrange presence and boldness which I like and is probably what you find a little offensive. This is also what I liked about the Valab dac vs the emu0404 usb. The valab was more present and whole in the midrange and had tighter bass. Guitar strings had more body and presence on the valab than the 0404 for example but the latter was more neutral overall and sounded more spacious and airy/less forward. The udac takes what the valab has in presence but loses some hardness in the overall sound and adds a better soundstage. It is really all I could ask for in such an inexpensive little package with a decent amp section as a bonus. For a person with my preferences, this thing is perfect for the price.

 

[Crazy*Carl]

If the is some slight balance issues with the mids and treble, can't you just apply a slight amount of equalizer and make them neutral, while still keeping the detail of the uDAC? This is the same thing if people find headphones a little bass light.. then just add a little bit of equalizer... or is this another audiophile party foul?

 

[donunus]

The usual audiophile rules of the game is if it aint neutral get rid of it and get a new one

But if you are not a paranoid audiophile yet then by all means use an EQ. Make sure not to mess the sound up even more with that eq though. Thats the whole reason why it is not a recommended practice. It takes skill and experience to adjust an eq correctly. Also not all eqs are created equal. Listen to foobars eq for example. Try boosting one of the bands you get a weird feedback type of sound yeeeeeccchhh. There are some great vst plugin eqs out there that sound clean though.

 

[mamaloney]

how is it compared to a d2+ boa?

 

[rawrster]

just out of curiosity but has anyone tried this as a usb to optical converter?

 

[K_19]

Never thought about using this as a USB -> SPDIF converter. Since I have the HDP (and soon Stello DA100) now I might as well give it a try... might try to buy a coax cable over the wkend to try it out.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawrster /img/forum/go_quote.gif just out of curiosity but has anyone tried this as a usb to optical converter?

Check page 89 post #1329 from this thread...

 

[K_19]

Can't wait to try it as the converter. Gonna buy a coax cable tm. This might have me move the uDAC as a USB->SPDIF for my upcoming Stello DA100 feeding WA6... and move the HDP to my secondary rig.

Running out of things to sell now.

 

[rawrster]

@HeatFan: thanks! lol i replied to the post right after that too

been wondering about using it as a converter since I'm considering going into a headphone rig.

 

[eobet]

Seems I might be getting one of these.

Can anyone give me a tip as to where to find the SHORTEST possible USB type A - B cable?

I'm looking at Ebay and they list 5-10ft and so on, and I just want 5cm or something!

EDIT: I don't want to use an adapter, because that will look both ridiculous and probably be quite fragile on my MBP...

EDIT 2: Retractable might be an alternative, but still not optimal...

EDIT 3: Found one... trouble is that I'm in the UK... the search continues...

Belkin : Pro Series USB 2.0 Device Cable - 6 inches

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawrster /img/forum/go_quote.gif @HeatFan: thanks! lol i replied to the post right after that too been wondering about using it as a converter since I'm considering going into a headphone rig.

lol....many pages in this thread...

 

[miyinan]

I am only new to here. A stupid question: Does it work with computer speakers as well? I mean can i connect it to my speakers from the back (using rca out i would assume?) and then just simply plug the headphone into the headphone out at the front when I use headphone. Is it how it works? If so, is the rca out powered at all? will I need a stereo amp for computer speakers?

I know it may be designed mainly for headphones. And for $99, I can't really ask for more. But I just happen to have a pair of Creative T40 that I sometime listen to. For headphone, I have a pair of MS1i. Will the uDac work fine with both?

Also, I do plan to upgrade the speakers and headphone (probably to AV40 and MS2, sorry still a student with tight wallet

). Will the uDac still be sufficient by then?

I was looking at Aune mkii (selling for $160 I believe), I know that the rca out from the Aune is not powered at all. Also, how does uDac compare to the Aune mkii?

Too many questions? Sorry, i am only a newbie...

Thanks

 

[Bill St. Clair]

The RCA out from the µDAC is a 2 volt, line-level signal. It is suitable for driving a power amp or powered speakers. The headphone out drives lots of different headphones, but see the rest of this thread for specifics. It works fine for my M-Audio AV40 speakers and Grado SR60i headphones. It should work for your T40s, from the RCA out, and the MS1is, from the headphone out.

Can't compare with the Aune.

 

[miyinan]

Thanks for your reply, Bill St. Clair.

What about Musiland Monitor 02US? Comparable to the uDac? I was really leaning towards the uDac with Aune being eliminated. All of the sudden, I just came across the Musiland (sorry im indecisive). But it seems that Musiland had a lot of driver problems which make it a bit too complicated to me. Just wanna hear some comparison between the uDac and Musiland in terms of SQ. Anybody has tried both?

Thanks