[n4k33n]

I had a microdac, but I sent it back during the 30 day period and am using that $300 torwards buying the ultra. Has anyone heard this dac before it was a standalone product? (ie part of the amp packages). I also like the fact that its small form factor and won't look like a monstrosity on my desk. In fact, it will match the rest of my gear (hammond cases lol)

Anyway, the specs sound pretty nice:
CS4398 Dac
Analog Devices AD1896 to upsample to 24/196


Heres the product page:
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...-micro-dac.php

Anyway, am I doing the right thing here guys? Hows this DAC gonna stack up compared to others?

 

[spacemanspliff]

Coming from that company I am sure it will sound great. Is it a modified micro then?

 

[n4k33n]

^No, its the 2007 model. It has the same dac, but also an upsampling chip. Its the dac they used in their max line of amplifiers.

 

[tot]

I have also one in order. I already have their max dac in another amp and it sounds great.

 

[n4k33n]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have also one in order. I already have their max dac in another amp and it sounds great.

Could you describe it a bit more? Do you have anything else to compare it to?

 

[tot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n4k33n /img/forum/go_quote.gif Could you describe it a bit more? Do you have anything else to compare it to?

I have HR Home with Max Module and Max DAC connected to SqueezeBox v3 (upgraded to regulated transformer). The SqueezeBox DAC is quite good itself, but Max DAC had better high end with more "airiness" in it.

Mind you I don't think I have any kind of golden ears and generally I don't expect to hear differences between DACs. I tested with HD-650's which are not the most revealing headphones either.

I have also the current Micro DAC but I haven't tested that against the Max DAC. I'm not sure if I have a short rca to 3.5mm cable to do that (I have one very long one which would be unfair).

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n4k33n /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^No, its the 2007 model. It has the same dac, but also an upsampling chip. Its the dac they used in their max line of amplifiers.

i don't think that is correct. it's not the max dac (AD1896) in the ultra micro. it's the home dac (CS4398 DAC). check the specs.

 

[n4k33n]

^, yes, actually it is. Did you read the product page? The ad1896 is the upsampling chip. Its a combination of the cs4398 and the ad1896.

from the product page:
Quote:

The folks at Cirrus Logic and Analog Devices would flip their lid if they saw their flagship DAC and Asynchronous Sample Rate converter chips shoehorned into the tiny Ultra Micro DAC. The CS4398 is the best performing DAC chip in Cirrus’ line-up with numbers like 120dB dynamic range and -107dB THD+Noise, and the Analog Devices AD1896 Asynchronous Sample Rate Converter up-samples all incoming digital data to 24-bit, 196kHz data with an interpolation algorithm using its own ultra-stable clock to insure a jitter-free output data stream

This isn't a standard microdac. This is the new 2007 ultra microdac. Its the same dac from the max line in a standalone box.

 

[vcoheda]

so the home and max line use the same dac chip (the CS4398) and the only difference is that the max line has the inclusion of the AD1896. if so, it should be a great dac. still at that price it would be nice to have RCA outputs.

 

[n4k33n]

^ Cool. Yeah, it would be nice to have RCA, but I have a pretty nice zu mini to rca IC. I might have soloz make me a mini - rca for it though.

 

[slwiser]

What I did not realize is that they are building separate DACs up and down the line and this is the top model. You would also need an amp to go with this.

This is a stand-a-lone DAC...Something I thought that Headroom was not in the business of doing except for the original microDAC. I guess they got over it.

Question is how does it compare with an Apogee or Lavry or Benchmark?

 

[n4k33n]

^ I do have an amp. A MisterX PPAv2 with steps. It will handle it quite well. I will let you know how it stacks up after I get it. I'm thinking about upgrading to a b22 after I get it also, once I raise some cash.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Wow, the price of Stello DA100?

Would love to hear how it fares against it.

 

[n4k33n]

^ It has similar specs to all of these high end dacs. I'm very excited to see how it fares, especially given its size. Hell, it might end up being a new hit on head-fi in the coming months, and I'll be riding the wave.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Although many here, myself included, are subscribed to the view that most HR products don't have the best price/performance ratio, I'll be looking forward to your impressions. What does it use on USB receiver side? MicroDAC has quite poor USB/SPDIF implementation and, afaik, nothing got changed in new Micro models from that respect.
And WallWart PSU most likely will be a big limiting factor.

EDIT: Yep, same old a TI/Burr Brown PCM2902 for USB/SPDIF.