[gaplessophile]

Many posts on this forum seem to indicate that Hotaudio's USB DACs are very warm-sounding.

If any owners could further elaborate on this, I'd really appreciate it, since a warm sound is exactly what I'm looking for.

What Hotaudio DAC have you heard? What other DACs have you compared it to? How did it compare?

And, what chip did your Hotaudio DAC use? (This I am curious about because Hotaudio has changed the chips it uses from PCM2704 to PCM2705 without changing the names of their products.)

Many thanks for any information!

 

[Shark50521]

I have a Hot Audio Bit Perfect, but the only thing I can compare it to is my onboard sound, so it is comparably warmer than that, I love this thing, but once again my only means of comparison is my onboard sound. This is my first DAC also so I may be a bit biased towards it. I am using a pair of AD-700's as well with this. Sadly I do not remember what PCM chip was used in mine.

 

[doping panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaplessophile /img/forum/go_quote.gif Many posts on this forum seem to indicate that Hotaudio's USB DACs are very warm-sounding. If any owners could further elaborate on this, I'd really appreciate it, since a warm sound is exactly what I'm looking for. What Hotaudio DAC have you heard? What other DACs have you compared it to? How did it compare? And, what chip did your Hotaudio DAC use? (This I am curious about because Hotaudio has changed the chips it uses from PCM2704 to PCM2705 without changing the names of their products.) Many thanks for any information!

I had a hotaudio Supreme for a while. It used a PCM2702 I believe. It wasn't a large improvement over onboard sound to be honest, not enough to be noticeable from a first listen. The main improvement was just that it reduced the noise floor and smoothed the treble a bit. If you're going to buy a DAC, I would recommend against getting a hotaudio product. For about the same price of an hotaudio dac, you can commission a Gamma Lite from MisterX which is a much better dac than the hotaudio stuff.

 

[Pariah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by doping panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had a hotaudio Supreme for a while. It used a PCM2702 I believe. It wasn't a large improvement over onboard sound to be honest, not enough to be noticeable from a first listen. The main improvement was just that it reduced the noise floor and smoothed the treble a bit. If you're going to buy a DAC, I would recommend against getting a hotaudio product. For about the same price of an hotaudio dac, you can commission a Gamma Lite from MisterX which is a much better dac than the hotaudio stuff.

That's interesting, before I bought my first "DAC" (a Blue Circle "Thingee"--DO NOT buy this piece of cr#p!) I was seriously considering a hotaudio DAC (forget the exact model) for about $150. I asked Dave? of hotaudio whether he thought his DACs were overly warm (as this was the consensus) and he said more of neutral and articulate. BUT I had already said that I prefer a more analytical/bright/clear/defined sound over warm, so he may have just been telling me what I wanted to hear.

I wound up getting a DACMagic after my Thingee lesson ($200 or less for a DAC might not be worth it, it wasn't for me) and LOVE it. If it lasts for even 5 years it will be well worth the cost (which would be about $80 a year).

It is paired with my Usher S-520 speakers and Cambridge Audio azur 640A amp and, to me at least, is a match made in heaven. The system can be a bit bright sounding in the treble (I also have it in a small hardwood office), but only when played pretty loud, and I find it to be overall pretty neutral, with even some mid-bass "thump". It is not warm, it is clear and defined/articulate, but it plays all music well which evidences its neutrality, even when paired with "bright" speakers and an amp. Vocals and acoustic guitar as well as synths seem to really shine, and the bass is so lean and articulate/textured which I love as a fan of Geddy Lee's bass guitar sound.

So my advice: save your money and consider a DAC in the $300 and up range. Trust me, I'm a bargain hunter in audio (that's why I tried to go the "cheap" route at first with the Thingee), and I tried to find a used DACMagic (which were a whole $25 less than new ones on average), and I bought my amp used and my speakers before they went up in price (for $330 shipped, now they are $400 plus shipping), but a DAC that will last many years will pay for itself in the long run. Life is too short to be stuck with mediocre audio sound!

 

[gaplessophile]

Thanks for the responses and advice everyone!

Pariah1, I wonder if the Hotaudio DAC you were looking at might have been the Supreme or the DAC Straight. These are indeed said by Dave to have a clear, accurate sound, while he says his cheaper DACs, like the Destroyer and the Bitperfect, have a warm sound. This info is on the Hotaudio website.

Still keen to hear from anyone else who's had experience with Hotaudio DACs.

EDIT: Well, I just went ahead and bought a Hotaudio Bitperfect from Dave on Ebay. It's the model with the integrated headphone amp with volume knob. Only $51 - a real steal, no one else was bidding. Plus $10 worldwide shipping, which is great for a New Zealander like me. I'll post my own impressions here when it arrives!

 

[Pariah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaplessophile /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the responses and advice everyone! Pariah1, I wonder if the Hotaudio DAC you were looking at might have been the Supreme or the DAC Straight. These are indeed said by Dave to have a clear, accurate sound, while he says his cheaper DACs, like the Destroyer and the Bitperfect, have a warm sound. This info is on the Hotaudio website. Still keen to hear from anyone else who's had experience with Hotaudio DACs. EDIT: Well, I just went ahead and bought a Hotaudio Bitperfect from Dave on Ebay. It's the model with the integrated headphone amp with volume knob. Only $51 - a real steal, no one else was bidding. Plus $10 worldwide shipping, which is great for a New Zealander like me. I'll post my own impressions here when it arrives!

I think it was the Supreme. Hope you like your DAC, it's hard to go wrong at that price!

 

[gaplessophile]

Well, I got my Hotaudio Bitperfect about 10 days ago. Unfortunately I won't be keeping it.

It might be warmer sounding than some sources, but it's not a patch on my Technics SL-PD6 CD player (from the 90s, has MASH).

Guitars especially just sound cold on the Bitperfect (which I tried burning in for about 30 hours to no noticeable effect). My Technics, on the other hand, fills up the room with realistic, loud, present sound - as if the music was sitting in the room with me.

Yes, I listen on speakers - not quite the Head-fi style, I know. But even when I used to listen on headphones more, I had the exact same problem with warm versus cold sources.

Actually, to me, it's not so much that my Technics CD player sounds warm - it's that most modern sources sound cold (especially iPods, including with the diyMod). In my opinion, my Technics just sounds the way sound realistically should, and modern sources sound "wrong".

If anyone does know of a USB DAC which could give the kind of sound I'm after, I'd really like to hear! Until then though, it looks like I'm going back to listening to music off CDs.

 

[Drubbing]

I had a Hot USB1 as my first up grade from onboard and it wasn't warm at all. If it wasn't for knocking off some slight rough edges of my Mac's card on a select few tracks, I wouldn't have known it was even there, so infinitesimal was the difference/improvement. I listened for a long time before reaching the conclusion that even for $50 it wasn't worth it.

I would only consider one of these if you have troublesome onboard. They're not really up to anything more than that IMO.

Sorry, but the poster who suggested saving for a real DAC around $300 offered the best advice, again IMO. I too have gone up to the DACmagic, and if you're listening mostly via speakers, this may well be the level you need to go to to make a difference. Headphone can pick up things easier.

EDIT: Oh dear, I see you've already bought one. Well, prepare to be underwhelmed. I had a numerous emails with Dave regarding my product, and whilst a nice guy, he's given to hyperbole about his gear.

 

[palanoid]

omg how have i managed to miss this thread before purchasing a bit perfect dac from hotaudio
im really regretting now..even though its still on its way to my home

 

[LargenTheMargin]

lol, I have a Hotaudio Bit-Perfect on its way to my house as well. I can only hope that the tons and tons of good reviews I read before buying had it right and that you guys have it wrong.

 

[userlander]

Things tend to look bad when people compare $300+ dollar dacs with ones for $75-100.

It's not really a fair comparison. I've had a hotaudio dac for a few months and it is a noticeable improvement over laptop onboard sound, not only cleaning up the noise but having a pretty good and transparent sound (more toward neutral than warm, I would say) - not bad at all for the money. I wouldn't use one for anything more than a laptop, but it serves its purpose well enough for a portable rig. Are these PCM2704/5 chips known to be crappy chips or something?

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by userlander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Things tend to look bad when people compare $300+ dollar dacs with ones for $75-100.

The trouble I've found in this forum, is this exactly what the HOT's are compared to, and far more favourably than they deserve.

Your experience is really their niche; cheap fix for troublesome onboard, mostly found with laptops. Those that say it does anything more, are suffering from fanboy hyperbole.

 

[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drubbing /img/forum/go_quote.gif The trouble I've found in this forum, is this exactly what the HOT's are compared to, and far more favourably than they deserve. Your experience is really their niche; cheap fix for troublesome onboard, mostly found with laptops. Those that say it does anything more, are suffering from fanboy hyperbole.

Really? My impression is that if you put some of the hotaudio stuff in, say, a pico or ibasso enclosure, everyone would rave about it, and vice versa: if you put the pico/ibasso stuff in one of those hotaudio plain plastic boxes it would be panned. It's more about impression and hype and how things *look* with a lot of people, in my experience. Iow, the fanboy hyperbole most often seems to go the other way (like with the recent HF-2 worship).

Because again, are you saying the PCM2705, or for example the TPA6120 (one of the most respected headphone chips ever) sound bad, or are bad components?

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by userlander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really? My impression is that if you put some of the hotaudio stuff in, say, a pico or ibasso enclosure, everyone would rave about it, and vice versa: Because again, are you saying the PCM2705, or for example the TPA6120 (one of the most respected headphone chips ever) sound bad, or are bad components?

Yeah, that's essentially the hype, and this place is full of people who rave about lots of things; fanboys, and those that want to join the "I can hear a massive difference with this really cheap gear" club.

I don't really take any notice of how good or bad a chip is, or is supposed to be, or what the product looked like; I wanted a cheap DAC, and expected it to do what it claimed to do - by its maker and its fans. There is too much flowery prose written about its soundstage and sig that it simply fail to live up to.

I didn't get sucked into the hype, because I trusted my own ears on hearing and critiquing it. And all it is, is a basic, honest product for a basic price. Suited to the niche I already mentioned.

 

[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drubbing /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, that's essentially the hype, and this place is full of people who rave about lots of things; fanboys, and those that want to join the "I can hear a massive difference with this really cheap gear" club.

Because we all know the price of something is what determines how good it sounds!