[raftod]

I just bought a pair of M50s recently and love them! I've been looking at amps and dacs, and based on the reviews I'm definitely interested in the Nuforce uDac. I'm currently using an Audigy 2 ZS on my primary computer, and onboard on my laptop. How much of an increase would I see in SQ for music, movies, or games? Would it help with Pandora? (I pay for it so it's 192kbps instead of 128). The one major thing I would expect it to do is cut out the whirring "mechanical" noises on my laptop, but besides that I'm just not sure.

Any thoughts?

 

[nyjets28]

i would say definitely get it. if you don't like it, sell it or return it. I'm not sure about the improvement it would have on your primary machine, but on your laptop, the sound will be much better. before the udac, i was going to get a bithead, but imo, the udac sounds better and is just overall a better product (also has more versatility)

 

[charlie0904]

I am thinking of getting uDAC/D4 for my ath-m50 for computer use too.

 

[mamba315]

The uDac was an improvement over my STX. Honestly, I was surprised at the difference.

Before the uDac I thought about upgrading my Audioengine speakers. I no longer have such thoughts. These speakers scale very well; it was the source that didn't meet expectations.

However, the STX can do other cool things, like play 24 bit 96khz FLAC files.

 

[mamba315]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raftod /img/forum/go_quote.gif How much of an increase would I see in SQ for music, movies, or games? Would it help with Pandora? (I pay for it so it's 192kbps instead of 128).

I also have the paid Pandora, and yes it sounds better. Very good considering it's only 192kbps.

I can't say how much of an improvement you'll notice. The uDac is very clear sounding, and I always notice clarity the most with low frequencies. Bass sounds very fast and clean. The STX doesn't keep up in this regard. Whether it's due to inferior design or just because it's more exposed to internal computer noise, I couldn't tell you. I wonder about that myself.

 

[MadMike]

The M50s are very good headphones. I listen to them on several portable sources- an iPod Classic (80gb) and my iPhone 3GS (very good sounding player!) to name a couple. The iPhone sounds better than the headphone jacks on any of my computers. I recently built a new computer and got the uDac to help improve the audio. I listen to music through Foobar2000 -> Wasapi for bit-perfect playback. What a difference! The music is just more musical (less grainy treble, tighter bass and midrange, more detail and deeper soundstage). Not certain about your main computer (with the Audigy 2 ZS) but the
M50s will sound much better through your laptop with the uDac. Great buy!

 

[raftod]

Alright so I pulled the trigger since Amazon got them back in stock. Can't wait for it to arrive

Quick question about the setup though: I'm currently using the Klipsch iFi as my computer speakers and the M50s as my headphones. Using the uDac, would I be able to:

Connect the RCA out from the uDac to the input on the Klipsch?

Connect the RCA Audio Out on my TV to the line in on my soundcard and output through the uDac? I'm currently using a Kenwood Receiver to input the TV and output through the headphones. Would the uDac offer better sound quality?

I'm fairly new to this but am learning quickly and greatly appreciate the advice

 

[AmanGeorge]

You can definitely do the first one - I think to connect to the Klipsch iFi, you need a standard Y-cable (i.e. RCA male on one end, mini 1/8" plug on the other).

The second one is more complicated - I'm not sure it would work, and it wouldn't offer any benefit quality-wise... basically you're talking about outputting an analog signal from the TV, sending it through a soundcard, and outputting a digital signal from the soundcard to the uDAC to then output an analog signal again. I don't think it will work, and it doesn't really make much sense anyway - it won't affect your sound quality for the better because the signal coming out of your TV's RCA out has already gone through the TV's D-A conversion system.

I think you can do both of those things - to connect to the Klipsch iFi, you need a standard Y-cable (i.e. RCA male on one end, mini 1/8" plug on the other). The TV thing is complicated and

 

[Shizdan]

Mamba, Right now I have an Essence STX with 49720 Op Amps. I have been contemplating about purchasing the UDac but am not in need of one unless it is a signifigant upgrade from my upgraded STX. I'd be using it strictly for headphones (HD600's)

Xonar Essence STX (49720 OP)> Little Dot MK III (Stock) > HD600's

 

[robjrock]

I'd be very interested in how the uDac sounds with the M50s
192kbit seems pretty low into a dedicated DAC > amp > studio monitor (m50) set up? I'll hopefully be ditching the Mp3s and hitting the FLACs - I don't know if it really makes much difference but the placebo effect tells me it sounds awesome

 

[raftod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robjrock /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd be very interested in how the uDac sounds with the M50s 192kbit seems pretty low into a dedicated DAC > amp > studio monitor (m50) set up? I'll hopefully be ditching the Mp3s and hitting the FLACs - I don't know if it really makes much difference but the placebo effect tells me it sounds awesome

Well I've had some time with the m50s and the uDac and I'd say there is a definite improvement. It's subtle (at least on my desktop, laptop is much more noticeable). The music seems a little clearer and the bass seems to hit a little harder (with more "oomph" if that makes any sense). They definitely sound good...since this is my first good set of cans and first dac/amp, I have nothing to compare it to...but I like it so far

 

[dana789]

I just got a uDac, and I'm happy with it. I notice several substantial improvements over my other sources (Amp3 and Fuze). The output is very quiet (zero hiss on all my phones, unlike the Amp3) and sibilance is reduced (esp on female vocals). The uDac and my Grado s80 get along especially well. That Grado sparkle sounds great to my ears with all my sources, but esp with the uDac.

One of my reasons for getting the uDac was so I could do ABX testing to see if my aging ears could hear differences in bit rate, mp3 vs flac, etc. The difference between 128k CBR mp3 and Flac is very noticeable to me (whew!).

The quality obtainable with a $99 DAC/headphone amp and $99 headphones simply astounds me (I am a noob to quality audio stuff, I started listening to music seriously during the dark ages of cassette tapes). I am about to head off on a several month trip requiring my notebook computer, and I think the uDac will make a great travel accessory.

 

[robjrock]

Well I just pulled the trigger on the udac : they seem so popular I'd have no problems selling if I don't like it, but at $99 it's a cheap upgrade on my laptops crappy sound card. Hopefully I'll like it more than my iPhone HP out.

 

[raftod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robjrock /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I just pulled the trigger on the udac : they seem so popular I'd have no problems selling if I don't like it, but at $99 it's a cheap upgrade on my laptops crappy sound card. Hopefully I'll like it more than my iPhone HP out.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I used it with my laptop a few days ago and was still very impressed with how good it sounded. Post back what you think of it when it arrives

 

[robjrock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raftod /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think you'll be disappointed. I used it with my laptop a few days ago and was still very impressed with how good it sounded. Post back what you think of it when it arrives

If I'm lucky I may get it late this week, so I'll post back with impressions.