Info on Trend UD-10 DAC/headphone amp?

[Raphael]

Has anyone used this device? I'm curious to know what the headphone amp section is like. Is it your average receiver headphone output, or something more extraordinary?

 

[jpstereo]

Take a look here:

Trends Audio UD-10 USB audio converter review - [English]

 

[Raphael]

Thanks for the link. It doesn't describe how the headphone amp sounds though. If it sounds good, I have a wacky experiment I want to try out. Using it as a transportable headphone amp.

Unfortunately, this doesn't fly well with an iMod, because even if I get a cable that terminates in USB from the dock (including caps), I don't think it would work (not so knowledgeable in this part). Even if it did, I would have no way of controlling the volume. On top of that, it would defeat the whole point of the iMod. So I have a question.

Is there any sort of portable or transportable, or what have you player that will output audio through USB? I'm curious to see how this works. Anybody want to make any assumptions on how terrible or terrific this rig will be?

Portable or transportable player (capable of FLAC or rockbox) + Trends Audio UD-10?

 

[jpstereo]

Not sure if the headphone out quality is really the primary objective of the UD-10. In this case, I think it is more of a side-benefit. That said, I have never listened to it.

 

[diego]

I wouldn't call it headphone out. The chip that does the USB to spdif conversion also has an analog out, so they just connected it to a headphone out ( I think but I'm not sure). I doubt it even has a buffer.

I had an UD-10 and I think it's a very good USB to spdif converter and I would buy it again if I ever need one. The headphone out, on the other hand, is just better than a sound card. Probably any $200 to $300 Dac would sound much better.

Regards,
Diego

 

[jpstereo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by diego /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wouldn't call it headphone out. The chip that does the USB to spdif conversion also has an analog out, so they just connected it to a headphone out ( I think but I'm not sure). I doubt it even has a buffer. I had an UD-10 and I think it's a very good USB to spdif converter and I would buy it again if I ever need one. The headphone out, on the other hand, is just better than a sound card. Probably any $200 to $300 Dac would sound much better. Regards, Diego

Agreed! I would look elsewhere if the primary goal is quality headphone listening.

 

[mrarroyo]

Do a search, this product has been discussed extensively. For example: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/ud...verter-203451/

 

[Raphael]

Thanks again guys. I have one last question though that I can't seem to find a solid answer to. Is there a difference in using my laptop's S/PDIF and the UD-10s?

The way I see it, the signal is being sent out for an external DAC to deal with. On top of that, I have Foobar setup to transmit a bit-perfet signal (bypassing kmixer). So is there really any improvement in using an UD-10's S/PDIF over my laptop's S/PDIF?

 

[diego]

If your laptop sends a bit perfect signal I would say there isn't any improvement. However, some audio chips will always resample the signal, if that is your case you may see an improvement (I don't know the jitter levels of the devices we're talking about and I rather not enter a discussion about it

). The UD-10 is bit perfect.

 

[ack_0220]

I have this unit, firstly, this is not a Headphone amp, it is just a USB-SPDIF converter for external DAC. I had a couple of USB-SPDIF converter becore and this one is the best i've heard, even compared to my sound card SPDIF out with ASIO. To make the best of it, use it with a USB ASIO which is a true ASIO out instead of ASIO4ALL.

 

[tfarney]

So let me get this right: USB goes in the front and it goes through an internal DAC and analog comes out the "headphone" jack, or it bi-passes the internal DAC and passes bit-perfect digital through the coax or optical ports on the back? For $90?

If that's right, cool. I need one of these.

Tim

 

[diego]

I think 1 chip (pcm 2704) does all the work. The chip converts USB to bit perfect spdif (coax, bnc, optical and AES), but it also has analog outs so it has a headphone out. However, it's great for USB to spdif conversion and not so great doing analog out.

Diego

 

[RGA]

The UD 10.1 uses a Burr Brown PCM2704 IC for USB audio conversion.

I will be reviewing the UD-10.1 Lite USB and the PA-10 Tube Headphone/Pre Amplifier as a combination for an upcoming review at DAGOGO - A Unique Audiophile Experience.

 

[Duggeh]

The headphone output on my UD-10.1 Lite isn't up to much at all, irrespective of the power supply. The iPod touch is probably more capable.