[odymmij]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailboat /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to be brutally honest. After spending the last hour trying to come up with clever knowledgeable things to say, I give up. Must've typed up four different paragraphs on how amazing the uDAC makes my headphone (MS1) sound. Granted, I've never been to a Head-Fi meet or listened to a better setup than what I possess, so there is bias. But this is the clearest sound I have ever heard. I'm grinning like an idiot, my jaw is starting to hurt. That is all.

So it's better than your Xonar?

 

[expxe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailboat /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to be brutally honest. After spending the last hour trying to come up with clever knowledgeable things to say, I give up. Must've typed up four different paragraphs on how amazing the uDAC makes my headphone (MS1) sound. Granted, I've never been to a Head-Fi meet or listened to a better setup than what I possess, so there is bias. But this is the clearest sound I have ever heard. I'm grinning like an idiot, my jaw is starting to hurt. That is all.

is the nuforce better than a $500 amp? is that what you are saying!!!?

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by expxe /img/forum/go_quote.gif is the nuforce better than a $500 amp? is that what you are saying!!!?

I must have missed the part where he mentioned a $500 amp.

 

[K_19]

I'm gonna be brutally honest here. It's not a $500 amp, but for K701's in particular I actually prefer the simple uDAC -> K701 combo more than my old Hotaudio DAC straight -> Head-Direct EF1 -> K701 setup.

Yup. Dead serious.

 

[Raez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamba315 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If one wanted to upgrade down the road, what source (in your opinion) would be a logical next step if one wanted a better DAC that still outperformed it's price tag? Best "bang for the buck", with a limit of $500-1000.

x2

 

[expxe]

damn, you guys are making think of getting this. it will be my first amp, how does this $115 ($99 + shipping) amp compare to the $160 Aune soundwise (and nothing else, i only care about the audio)? im gonna be pairing it with the 555s.

 

[sailboat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by expxe /img/forum/go_quote.gif is the nuforce better than a $500 amp? is that what you are saying!!!?

No, I was simply stating that although I've never heard a high-end setup, I imagine this is what it must be like to do just that.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Over the past few days I've been comparing the uDAC -> headphone out -> D5000/SR225i to uDAC -> Millet MiniMAX - same headphones to CIAudio VDA-1/VAC-1 (Modwright) -> Millet MiniMAX -> same headphones. I've gotta say that while the uDAC certainly sounds fantastic both directly from its headphone out AND amped via the RCA outputs through the MiniMAX, it's not as good as the VDA-1. Not at all. The VDA-1/VAC-1 beats the uDAC in detail, smoothness, soundstage, and overall refinement. That being said I think that I could be very happy with my SR225i directly from the headphone output on the uDAC, particularly if I'd never heard it properly amped. The advantage to such a rig would be the bang-for-the-buck factor, which is pretty damned high. Despite the fact the I love my CIAudio/MiniMAX combo, I think that NuForce really has hit a home run with the uDAC at its pricepoint. For a hundred bucks it's a solid little unit that doesn't disappoint.

 

[jp_zer0]

I wrote impressions earlier with the RE0, but I noticed some occasional glitch or clipping. With calmer songs it's pretty intolerable when you know it's there. Help desk is pretty slow, but I didn't set my priority too high, so I guess I can't complain. I'm declaring it DOA so let's see how it goes.

 

[mamba315]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odymmij /img/forum/go_quote.gif So it's better than your Xonar?

It matches, and possibly exceeds, my STX. Never heard the DX that sailboat has.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by richbass /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks a bunch @HeadphoneAddict. So, DAC+AMP in D4 is better than D10 ? Waste of $55 ?

This is a uDAC thread. I have a big thread with 13 DAC/amps reviewed and compared, and sometimes the subjective "qualitative" data is more important than the "quantitative" rankings. I try to describe what I heard, and it's up to you to take what I say and decide what your priorities are in ranking their desirability yourself. UPDATED 2/22 REVIEW 13 USB DAC amp - Predator, Pico, 2/3MOVE, D10 D3 D2 Viper/Boa D1, Lyrix, MicroAmp, Vivid V1, Nuforce, XM5 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio. I have posted my findings on the D4 in that thread, but not yet all my details of what I heard that lead to my conclusions, as I am trying to write up the review and I'm not getting the free time to do it.

 

[expxe]

is this Nuforce uDAC $100 amp better than most other $200 amps? or $300 amps? now that is bang for the buck!!!!

 

[userlander]

Is it just my impression, or has there been a fairly high problem rate with these? Are there maybe some QC issues?

 

[K_19]

I've heard of one case of a stiff volume control, and just one now concerning clipping from this thread... IIRC I haven't read anything else from here, but I may be wrong. I wouldn't rule out possible QC issues with this being a new product and possibly rushed production due to demand, but I didn't get any impression of high problem rates personally (knocks on wood).

 

[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've heard of one case of a stiff volume control, and just one now concerning clipping from this thread... IIRC I haven't read anything else from here, but I may be wrong. I wouldn't rule out possible QC issues with this being a new product and possibly rushed production due to demand, but I didn't get any impression of high problem rates personally (knocks on wood).

Someone else had some humming issue a couple pages back, and I think there was even another return earlier. After reading this latest report of the clipping, it started seeming like there were a few more problems than you'd like to hear about.

I think someone said there's a 30-day return policy, and nuforce has a good rep so I'm still getting one. What's the long-term warranty situation, though? I didn't see anything about that on amazon or the website.