[peskypesky]

i will say that i'm skeptical that i'll notice much difference from the soundcard of my Macbook, but I am willing to give the uDAC2 a try. so many people say that DACS offer improved sound, so who am i to say its hype? i need to hear for myself. and if i don't notice an improvement, i'll return it or sell it.
 
i almost went with the uDAC2-HP, which is $99, but I found a deal on the uDAC2 for only $10 more. I figured i might as well get the full-featured uDAC2.
 
so, i should have it in a few days and I will be posting my impressions.
 
 
 
 

 

[peskypesky]

ok, just got the uDAC2. and yeah, this thing is beautiful. i got the red one. one of my co-workers saw it and said "i don't know what the hell that is, but it is sexy."
 
the sound? well, damn, it sounds really really good. of course, i'm going to have to do some A/B-ing when I get home, but right now, I am loving it. I don't know how much of the apparent sound improvement comes from the amp and how much comes from the DAC...but the sound is pumping, vibrant, richly textured, and with a smooth warmth that is really pleasing my ears.
 
 

 

[Blackwheel]

That's awesome that you found a dac that you are enjoying, but there is something you should know about the uDac 2. They are generally not respected at all on the forums.
 
This matter is one of technical accuracy vs "nice sounding" coloration. Most users on head-fi pay big dollars for gear that is considered to be technically accurate. The uDac 2 is an extreme opposite case, way over on the coloration side, and that's part of why it is an "exciting" source.
 
In my opinion, the best dacs are not perfectly accurate (that is actually impossible) and not heavily colored, because a dac that focuses on being accurate usually sounds dry and digital while a heavily colored dac just sounds... fake and exaggerated. It's very much like playing with the saturation setting on a video. I think that if you have a technically proficient dac with slight coloration that matches your preference, and hits a sweet balance between technicality and musicality, then that truly is the best gear that you can get.
 
So it is understandable that the uDac 2 sounds "good", and if the technical aspect is not of concern to you, than the uDac should server you well, although you may tire of the exaggerated tone.

 

[peskypesky]

darn. now you tell me.  

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

That's awesome that you found a dac that you are enjoying, but there is something you should know about the uDac 2. They are generally not respected at all on the forums.

I wouldn't generalize like that too much. There are plenty (in fact I would say the majority) of people here who enjoy their udac/udac2. All you've done is "politely" told him that his money was poorly spent and now he won't enjoy his gear because he's going to fret over the sound rather than simply listen.
 

 

[peskypesky]

Quote:

I wouldn't generalize like that too much. There are plenty (in fact I would say the majority) of people here who enjoy their udac/udac2. All you've done is "politely" told him that his money was poorly spent and now he won't enjoy his gear because he's going to fret over the sound rather than simply listen.
 

well, i'm not actually hearing the "flaws" that caused all the fuss over the uDAC2. i don't hear balance issues at lower volumes....and i don't hear clipping. not saying its not there, just saying its inaudible to me. 
 
again, i am really enjoying the sound of the uDAC2, but I'm not sure how much if any improvement it is over the soundcard in my Macbook. i will have to do some more A/B-ing in the next few days.
 

 

[daveathall]

I have one of these also, I don't know what bright, tonal balance, dull, flat, high frequency etc etc means and couldn't describe it if I did.
 
I have tried this using my Mac book pro through B&W P5 headphones and Seinnheiser IE8 earphones. To my 53 year old less than 100% accurate ears, the sound with the UDac 2 connected with the NuForce impulse USB cable was more pleasing than without, could it be the placebo effect? Quite possibly, does it bother me? No, it makes the sound of my modest set up in my opinion better, whether that be real or perceived, who knows, but for me, money well spent.

 

[jraul7]

I received mine last week, also red (gorgeous), and have been using it with my Audioengine A2 speakers. I have to say that I am enjoying the sound a lot! I always thought that the A2's were a little boomy if they were not exactly directed to my ears, and the uDAC2 has improve this. For the price, I think is awesome. I am waiting for my HD 598 to arrive in order to try the headphone amp.
 

 

[peskypesky]

Quote:

the sound with the UDac 2 connected with the NuForce impulse USB cable was more pleasing than without, could it be the placebo effect? Quite possibly, does it bother me? No, it makes the sound of my modest set up in my opinion better, whether that be real or perceived, who knows, but for me, money well spent.

hehe. never underestimate the power of the placebo effect!
 
 
"Last November, a new type of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, championed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, was abruptly withdrawn from Phase II trials after unexpectedly tanking against placebo. A stem-cell startup called Osiris Therapeutics got a drubbing on Wall Street in March, when it suspended trials of its pill for Crohn's disease, an intestinal ailment, citing an "unusually high" response to placebo. Two days later, Eli Lilly broke off testing of a much-touted new drug for schizophrenia when volunteers showed double the expected level of placebo response.

It's not only trials of new drugs that are crossing the futility boundary. Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late '90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time.

It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger."

 
http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect?currentPage=all
 
 
"The roots of the placebo problem can be traced to a lie told by an Army nurse during World War II as Allied forces stormed the beaches of southern Italy. The nurse was assisting an anesthetist named Henry Beecher, who was tending to US troops under heavy German bombardment. When the morphine supply ran low, the nurse assured a wounded soldier that he was getting a shot of potent painkiller, though her syringe contained only salt water. Amazingly, the bogus injection relieved the soldier's agony and prevented the onset of shock."

 

[Blackwheel]

 
Quote:

I wouldn't generalize like that too much. There are plenty (in fact I would say the majority) of people here who enjoy their udac/udac2. All you've done is "politely" told him that his money was poorly spent and now he won't enjoy his gear because he's going to fret over the sound rather than simply listen.
 

So ignorance is bliss? Sorry, but I strongly disagree with that. I'm just giving him my opinion and some information about the product.
 
@peskypesky If you're happy with it you should keep the uDac 2. It is a great sounding device with a lot of functionality, but you also needed to hear about the technical "problems". So my advice is to look past your initial reactions and the placebo effect of it having such a nice exterior, maybe switch from your laptop jack to the uDac 2, spend some real time listening, and judge whether the sound improvement is worth the money. Your laptop sound card is probably technically and sonically worse. If the jump in quality is worth the money for you, then that's fine, and that is all that matters. If not, then NuForce has really great customer service, and they take returns without any questions. 
 
 

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

So ignorance is bliss? Sorry, but I strongly disagree with that. I'm just giving him my opinion and some information about the product.
 
 

It was more this line that popped out at me: "They are generally not respected at all on the forums and here is why"
which I felt was a rather unfair generalization, and the rest of your post could be inferred as placebo in the opposite direction.
 
That all said, I have owned the udac2 and ultimately sold it in preference to other gear. I've got pretty sharp ears, but could hear nothing wrong with it. I just liked my other stuff more.

 

[peskypesky]

as i said, i will be doing more A/B-ing and then decide whether or not to keep it. If i don't hear a real sound improvement from the soundcard, i'll send it back, cute as it looks,

 

[Blackwheel]

It was wrong of me to generalize, I agree.
 
How could the rest of my post "be inferred as placebo in the opposite direction"?
Not sure what you mean by that...
I specifically state that trying to go for total technical accuracy is impossible.
Tube amps also have their own technical "problems", but they sell fairly well and sound amazing.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

It was wrong of me to generalize, I agree.
 
How could the rest of my post "be inferred as placebo in the opposite direction"?
Not sure what you mean by that...
I specifically state that trying to go for total technical accuracy is impossible.
Tube amps also have their own technical "problems", but they sell fairly well and sound amazing.

I admit to having from a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to your post. I'm sure you did not intend it in a negative way, but it reads in a sort of passive-condescending manner of "well sure the XYZ technically isn't all that great, but if *you* like it hey good for you". (this is where the written medium really sucks for conveying intention)
 

 

[Blackwheel]

 
Quote:

I admit to having from a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to your post. I'm sure you did not intend it in a negative way, but it reads in a sort of passive-condescending manner of "well sure the XYZ technically isn't all that great, but if *you* like it hey good for you". (this is where the written medium really sucks for conveying intention)
 

Ya, I completely get that, I didn't intend it to sound like that, but looking back at my first post, it kinda does. I'm not an audio expert, nor do I have much gear at all. I just have read up on some stuff in the forums. I even bought the uDac 1 myself, and while I admit that I enjoyed the sound, ultimately I returned it because for my budget it was not worth the money... this was before reading that other article.