[az2123]

Yes, please stop derailing this thread.

 

[donunus]

First impression... my hd580s are balanced and its lost its thin edge in the upper mids even before any burn in on this thing... Thats out of its headphone Jack!!! Volume is also enough for me. Maybe for some music, I have to turn it to full volume but thats fine with me. Lets try it with the ld mk2 now....

Wider sounding and less bright in the lower highs with my ldmk2 using mullard ef92s... very nice. Already better than my valab which is less detailed and controlled in direct comparison. WOW all for 99 bucks.

I'll give more detailed impressions after a week of burn in and familiarization

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Several people have given me a hard time for not saying enough negative things about the uDAC. So tonight I came up with my final gripe - I would have preferred the uDAC to use a smaller mini-USB jack. Instead they used the big square USB jack that you find on printers, scanners, hubs and full size DACs (my PS Audio and Apogee both use this larger USB jack too). I do appreciate that they include the right cable, but I have loads of mini-USB cables and they are ubiquitous enough that I could find one when visiting a friend if I forgot or lost my big cable. Plus, several of my cables are 6" and 12" long, so they make for less clutter on my tiny laptop desk in my bedroom (a nice furniture-grade wood hospital-bed table actually).

Now, another Plus. Although the little blue LED is on all the time when plugged into the USB, it is a nice soft blue light and NOT one of those piercing beacons in the night. So, I can use it in a dim room or dark room at night and not be bothered by it. I've had amps before where I had to put tape over the LED. A final plus - I'm still enjoying this thing now as much as when I first got it.

 

[donunus]

The only possible gripe as of now that I can think of is the clipping at full volume when plugged in my ld2 while playing a "hot" recording. Its not a big deal though since I dont think the sound deteriorates with the volume pot is at less than full

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

Hey HPA, I intend to use the uDAC with the Audio-gd C-2C plus either a HD650 or an MD5000 (Have the HD650 now, may trade it up for a MD5000). I'm just concerned about whether the uDAC will bring out enough detail and/or whether it'll be too warm. I'm getting the C-2C pretty much because of its detail and neutrality. Essentially, will the uDAC be the weak link?

Thanks

 

[K3cT]

I heard the C2C seems to be buttery smooth so I'm not sure how the uDAC will fit in there.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Dying_Wren /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey HPA, I intend to use the uDAC with the Audio-gd C-2C plus either a HD650 or an MD5000 (Have the HD650 now, may trade it up for a MD5000). I'm just concerned about whether the uDAC will bring out enough detail and/or whether it'll be too warm. I'm getting the C-2C pretty much because of its detail and neutrality. Essentially, will the uDAC be the weak link? Thanks

no.

 

[donunus]

The udac is actually livelier sounding than my valab dac... so its warm but far from being overly so.

 

[donunus]

A dying wren, I dont have the c2c anymore but my main gripe with it was a recessed and dull presence. I have a feeling that the uDac might actually be a good thing for it. The c2c I had was bassy, a little dull and smoothed out in the mids and had some weird highs. The udac is not really bassy(its less so than the valab), its got a good presence in the mids that might help the c2c and the smooth highs might actually be a good match for the c2c also. In the end, youd still have to try it for yourself though.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif A dying wren, I dont have the c2c anymore but my main gripe with it was a recessed and dull presence. I have a feeling that the uDac might actually be a good thing for it. The c2c I had was bassy, a little dull and smoothed out in the mids and had some weird highs. The udac is not really bassy(its less so than the valab), its got a good presence in the mids that might help the c2c and the smooth highs might actually be a good match for the c2c also. In the end, youd still have to try it for yourself though.

Bassy, dull and weird highs? wow... Not exactly the orthodox opinion around here I think but thanks a lot for your opinion. Always healthy to have some negative reviews. Still digging around trying to find a good amp/dac combination for my headphones.

Thanks a lot for the reassurance on the uDAC guys.

 

[pearljam5000]

Is it worth waiting for the NuForce Icon HDP and paying 4 times as much as the uDAC?

 

[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Several people have given me a hard time for not saying enough negative things about the uDAC. So tonight I came up with my final gripe - I would have preferred the uDAC to use a smaller mini-USB jack. Instead they used the big square USB jack that you find on printers, scanners, hubs and full size DACs (my PS Audio and Apogee both use this larger USB jack too). I do appreciate that they include the right cable, but I have loads of mini-USB cables and they are ubiquitous enough that I could find one when visiting a friend if I forgot or lost my big cable. Plus, several of my cables are 6" and 12" long, so they make for less clutter on my tiny laptop desk in my bedroom (a nice furniture-grade wood hospital-bed table actually). Now, another Plus. Although the little blue LED is on all the time when plugged into the USB, it is a nice soft blue light and NOT one of those piercing beacons in the night. So, I can use it in a dim room or dark room at night and not be bothered by it. I've had amps before where I had to put tape over the LED. A final plus - I'm still enjoying this thing now as much as when I first got it.

Hi Larry - you still haven't clarified on your relationship with nuforce. In the original post you said you had a pre-production model, then on 12/1 you said you got a final production uDAC, but that was before they were for sale to the public, wasn't it? Was all that gratis from nuforce? Or did you buy all your uDACS? Just curious on that point as it obviously relates to objectivity, conflict of interest, etc. thanks.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it worth waiting for the NuForce Icon HDP and paying 4 times as much as the uDAC?

Do you realize that we even don't know how the HDP looks like?

 

[pearljam5000]

lol
yes,i was asking based on the specs alone,but i guess 'ill have to wait for the reviews

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you realize that we even don't know how the HDP looks like?

 

[bearmann]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif lol yes,i was asking based on the specs alone,but i guess 'ill have to wait for the reviews

What specs?! We barely have "claims"... so, yes, you'll have to wait - like everybody else.