[neco]

Just ordered a black uDAC, should be here sometime next week. How does this compare as a source with portable DAP's like iPhone, Sansa clip etc?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neco /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just ordered a black uDAC, should be here sometime next week. How does this compare as a source with portable DAP's like iPhone, Sansa clip etc?

Logic and intuition will answer that. Look at what high quality gear it's been compared with.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill St. Clair /img/forum/go_quote.gif Received my replacement µDAC in today's mail. Had almost forgotten how much nicer it is than my iMac's built-in sound. Ah... Listening to "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" by Pink Floyd.

Where's the Roger Waters?

 

[Bill St. Clair]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where's the Roger Waters?

Heh. I played Pink Floyd pretty much all day today. Don't have any of Roger Waters' solo albums. Which do you recommend?

 

[neco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Logic and intuition will answer that. Look at what high quality gear it's been compared with.

Wow then I'm in for a treat once it arrives.

 

[eneloquent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill St. Clair /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh. I played Pink Floyd pretty much all day today. Don't have any of Roger Waters' solo albums. Which do you recommend?

The Final Cut.

¬_¬

[size=xx-small](I'm definitely a Waters, not Gilmore, fan...)[/size]

In all seriousness, the final track (The Tide is Turning) on Radio K.A.O.S., which was featured in his live @ berlin The Wall set, was probably the best of his solo work.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill St. Clair /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh. I played Pink Floyd pretty much all day today. Don't have any of Roger Waters' solo albums. Which do you recommend?

Amused To Death
The Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking
In The Flesh (2 CD set LIVE, incredible sound and they do some Floyd)

All the Roger Waters solo CD have really incredible sound quality. He speaks in the liner notes of "Amused To Death" that if your not hearing certain attributes on the opening track...that your speakers are out of phase.

...

 

[Bill St. Clair]

Thanks, guys. I ordered "Amused to Death" and "In the Flesh" from Amazon. Liked the obviously good (even in MP3 sample) recording quality of "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking", but the music on that and "Radio K.A.O.S." didn't turn me on (though they might grow on me, as "The Wall" did back in 1979).

Strange to see MP3 downloads priced higher than CD. The market's good for us hi-fi lovers.

Listening to Sade's "Diamond Life" right now.

 

[soocha2]

hey I've read some few posts on the NuForce udac and found it pretty interesting after reading about some posts comparing it to the d4 and certainly got more interested after seeing the comparison between the three times more expensive pico and how it measures up to it. I currently have a ultrasone pro900 but nobody seems to have posted any experiences on that. How would it matchup with that? anybody have anything on that?

 

[thatopampguy]

Using HD600->RSA SR71-> µDAC->Foobar2000 w/ WASAPI dll

My SR71 is the original version, bought in 2004. I've been in this hobby since the late 90's when all we had was headwize.

The combo works and sounds fine. Between this DAC and other sources I've heard through my SR71, it's like splitting hairs. However, you've got to understand that I'm not picky about my sound and my ears can't tell the difference between most things. However, I can tell that the SR71 output is much warmer and fuller sounding than the HO of the µDAC, which I think is flat and dull but really "hot" solid-state sounding.

I'm working out the clipping right now, which I still get with the PC @ 70%, the SR71 @ 25% and the µDAC @ 75%. I should also mention, my uDAC gets really really hot. You can feel where it's been on the table. I wonder how that will affect longevity.

The bottom line is that the DAC sounds really good as a DAC.

(You can thank all the under-appreciated VLSI engineers out there for all the new SoC-type chips used in these things that are bringing down size and price.)

 

[Rabco]

The heat may be an issue, or perhaps just a symptom.

More on that in a second.

Background info: I haven't seriously listened to headphones since my college days (yup, in the dark ages). I've decided to get back into them, did my research and bought a nuForce UDAC and some Sennheiser HD555's.

All my music is digital at this point, and I use only lossless (fat) files in all applications. Altho I haven't done critical headphone comparos for some time, I'm finding this to be a well matched pair. Love the sound.

Anyway, about the heat.......when I received the uDac & 555's, I decided to burn in both using pink noise. I went with moderate volume levels (none higher than normal use) and drove both with pink noise continuously. Things were fine until about the third continuous day when I noticed the uDac was quite warm. I dc'd the pink noise and immediately tried to drive it with some music. I got a high pitched whistling noise, and the left channel disappeared. So, I powered the unit down, and let it cool completely.

Once powered up again, and with normal listening use, everything has worked great, and with the usual cycling of use turning it on and off, it's never become as hot to the touch (or started whistling!) again. The unit continues to sound great.

Take away? Leaving the unit on, and, perhaps driven with a load continuously may not be a good idea......

I did not contact nuForce about the issue, by the way, so I have not solicited manufacturer comment...

My 2 cents, and first post to this forum

 

[Bill St. Clair]

Interesting. I wonder if that's why mine lost the right channel. I didn't notice it being hot. We'll see if NuForce tries it and it works fine for them.

 

[SleazyC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sgt_Strider /img/forum/go_quote.gif What about the Westone UM3X and or the Sennheiser HD 595 and HD600?

I've had my uDAC for a week now and have put a moderate amount of listening time into them with my UM3X so I can try to comment here.

The first thing I noticed when I first hooked my uDAC up to my Macbook Pro to feed my UM3X's and played some lossless ALAC files was the increased sound stage. My impressions on the soundstage of the UM3X was that it was fairly constrained and small, but it never really bothered me. When I paired the UM3X with the uDAC and put on some music it was one of those "Woah" moments. I closed my eyes and pretty much felt like I was enveloped by the sound. I feel that the instrument separation on the UM3X is superb and being powered by the uDAC it really is enriched.

Headphone Addict's review pretty much nailed the point that the uDAC really has a rich, warm and forward sound. Coupled with the already existing forwardness of the UM3X you get that "in front of the band/musician" effect going on, which may or may not be your thing. I could definitely see the forward presentation being a bit overpowering to someone who likes a more balanced approach. I don't really hear much of a change in the bass department. If anything you get a little bit more punch in your bass.

I have ran into a little harshness in the high's but it could be a combination of needing some burn-in time or my propensity to listen to music at stupidly high levels. I also detect a very, very faint hiss when I have the uDAC at higher volume levels with no music playing. I don't think it will bother many, like I said I usually listen to the uDAC a the 11 or 12 o'clock position which pumps out quite a bit of volume.

Hope I helped.

 

[Lil' Knight]

I'm using the uDAC to feed my just-arrived AD2000. Wonderful synergy.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill St. Clair /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh. I played Pink Floyd pretty much all day today. Don't have any of Roger Waters' solo albums. Which do you recommend?

I was just noting that you were listening to one of the only 2 Pink Floyd albums after Roger left the band.