New Leckerton UHA-6S MKII Portable Headphone Amplifier Announced (Update User Impressions Added July 20th 2012)
Jan 25, 2013 at 6:41 AM Post #1,292 of 2,354
@Hiyono - thanks for the info! After reading lots of pages/threads, I didn't pick up on all of that. 
Looks like I will be going directly from my laptop for a good deal of my non-home listening, which wasn't the original plan. 
Much appreciated.
-Dan
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 11:54 AM Post #1,293 of 2,354
I see many posts from people who claim the dac in the mkii is not that good.  Compared to what?  I think it sounds better than the dacs in most lptops, phones, and many 'mp3' players.  while i might agrtee that the amp is a better amp than the dac is a dac - it's still quite good, and is a sonic improvement over going via the headphone out of many devices.  It has a lower output level than most headphone jacks, so i  suspect that people are being (subconsciously) swayed by the output level differences.....  
 
 
anyway, it's quite a good performer, and well worth the asking price.  (NO, I do not sell this unit).
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 11:57 AM Post #1,294 of 2,354
Quote:
I see many posts from people who claim the dac in the mkii is not that good.  Compared to what?  I think it sounds better than the dacs in most lptops, phones, and many 'mp3' players.  while i might agrtee that the amp is a better amp than the dac is a dac - it's still quite good, and is a sonic improvement over going via the headphone out of many devices.  It has a lower output level than most headphone jacks, so i  suspect that people are being (subconsciously) swayed by the output level differences.....  
 
 
anyway, it's quite a good performer, and well worth the asking price.  (NO, I do not sell this unit).

I agree with you completely, the DAC is just fine by me and I prob couldn't even tell the difference if a "better" or "worse" DAC was in it
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 1:35 PM Post #1,295 of 2,354
Quote:
I see many posts from people who claim the dac in the mkii is not that good.  Compared to what?  I think it sounds better than the dacs in most lptops, phones, and many 'mp3' players.  while i might agrtee that the amp is a better amp than the dac is a dac - it's still quite good, and is a sonic improvement over going via the headphone out of many devices.  It has a lower output level than most headphone jacks, so i  suspect that people are being (subconsciously) swayed by the output level differences.....  
 
 
anyway, it's quite a good performer, and well worth the asking price.  (NO, I do not sell this unit).

 
Quote:
I agree with you completely, the DAC is just fine by me and I prob couldn't even tell the difference if a "better" or "worse" DAC was in it

I agree as well. 
I don't have a bunch of experience listening to other DAC units out there, but compared to the other equipment I have the Leckerton DAC sounds best to me. Are there better DAC's out there? I am sure there must be but running FLAC/Foobar right into the UHA 6 gives me a pretty fantastic sound. 
 
My other stuff is a 7G ipod classic, 5.5G DIY iMod w/polypropylene caps, a stock 5G ipod, a 6G iPod classic, and two Clip Zips, all running rockbox.
 
You know what sounds best to me? The UHA 6. It is more tight and controlled but with a smoothness to it as well. Very pleasant and non-fatiguing to listen to. But I can't lug a laptop around all the time...lol. 
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 1:43 PM Post #1,296 of 2,354
Quote:
 
I agree as well. 
I don't have a bunch of experience listening to other DAC units out there, but compared to the other equipment I have the Leckerton DAC sounds best to me. Are there better DAC's out there? I am sure there must be but running FLAC/Foobar right into the UHA 6 gives me a pretty fantastic sound. 
 
My other stuff is a 7G ipod classic, 5.5G DIY iMod w/polypropylene caps, a stock 5G ipod, a 6G iPod classic, and two Clip Zips, all running rockbox.
 
You know what sounds best to me? The UHA 6. It is more tight and controlled but with a smoothness to it as well. Very pleasant and non-fatiguing to listen to. But I can't lug a laptop around all the time...lol. 

I've had various entry level DACs and IMO the difference is minimal
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 2:42 PM Post #1,297 of 2,354
Quote:
I've had various entry level DACs and IMO the difference is minimal

I have to disagree with you there juuust a bit. Yes, the differences are minimal but there is certainly a character to each one I listed - At least to my ears. 
 
That said, I was agreeing that the DAC in the UHA 6 is certainly good... I prefer it overall to my other stuff.  I just wish I could carry it around with me! My second favorite overall is probably a tossup between the modded 5.5G and 7G
 
Well, I guess I can carry it around -  on the Nexus 7 using USB Audio Recorder but that's not really super functional yet.
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 2:47 PM Post #1,298 of 2,354
Quote:
I have to disagree with you there juuust a bit. Yes, the differences are minimal but there is certainly a character to each one I listed - At least to my ears. 
 
That said, I was agreeing that the DAC in the UHA 6 is certainly good... I prefer it overall to my other stuff.  I just wish I could carry it around with me! My second favorite overall is probably a tossup between the modded 5.5G and 7G
 
Well, I guess I can carry it around -  on the Nexus 7 using USB Audio Recorder but that's not really super functional yet.

I can agree with you there about the character
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 6:34 PM Post #1,299 of 2,354
Quote:
I see many posts from people who claim the dac in the mkii is not that good.  Compared to what?  I think it sounds better than the dacs in most lptops, phones, and many 'mp3' players.  while i might agrtee that the amp is a better amp than the dac is a dac - it's still quite good, and is a sonic improvement over going via the headphone out of many devices.  It has a lower output level than most headphone jacks, so i  suspect that people are being (subconsciously) swayed by the output level differences.....  
 
 
anyway, it's quite a good performer, and well worth the asking price.  (NO, I do not sell this unit).


DACport LX, DX100. Simply put no comparison. I agree it is better than the DAC in an iphone4 or your average DAPs. But it's nothing special compared to what I'm use to using and it sounds quite harsh and unrefined IMO to what I have now. The only reason I bought the UHA6 MKII to be honest is for its amp section. That is where the units bread and butter is. The DAC is just an afterthought.
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 7:38 PM Post #1,300 of 2,354
DACport LX, DX100. Simply put no comparison. I agree it is better than the DAC in an iphone4 or your average DAPs. But it's nothing special compared to what I'm use to using and it sounds quite harsh and unrefined IMO to what I have now. The only reason I bought the UHA6 MKII to be honest is for its amp section. That is where the units bread and butter is. The DAC is just an afterthought.


This.
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 8:12 PM Post #1,301 of 2,354
Lets see: to call it harsh, unrefined and an afterthought, you have to compare it to a dac only product that used to be $300+ and an $800+ ibasso. I'd like to be enlightened as to what sub $300 very portable unit offers more.

Not everything is a race to have the best product on planet earth. Reality is that for its price point, both the dac and amp are a great value. Afterthought indeed.
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 8:17 PM Post #1,302 of 2,354
Originally Posted by shotgunshane /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Lets see: to call it harsh, unrefined and an afterthought, you have to compare it to a dac only product that used to be $300+ and an $800+ ibasso. I'd like to be enlightened as to what sub $300 very portable unit offers more.

Not everything is a race to have the best product on planet earth. Reality is that for its price point, both the dac and amp are a great value. Afterthought indeed.

 
THIS.
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 8:41 PM Post #1,303 of 2,354
Quote:
Lets see: to call it harsh, unrefined and an afterthought, you have to compare it to a dac only product that used to be $300+ and an $800+ ibasso. I'd like to be enlightened as to what sub $300 very portable unit offers more.

Not everything is a race to have the best product on planet earth. Reality is that for its price point, both the dac and amp are a great value. Afterthought indeed.


It's a great value yes. But the fact remains there is better out there to be had for those who want more. To say otherwise is misleading. The UHA6MKII's true merit comes from its amp section IMO. Not it's DAC. It's DAC actually holds back its amp section (it's the bottleneck of the combo). I tend to like the get the most out of my gear.
 
Jan 25, 2013 at 8:57 PM Post #1,304 of 2,354
Quote:
Lets see: to call it harsh, unrefined and an afterthought, you have to compare it to a dac only product that used to be $300+ and an $800+ ibasso. I'd like to be enlightened as to what sub $300 very portable unit offers more.

Not everything is a race to have the best product on planet earth. Reality is that for its price point, both the dac and amp are a great value. Afterthought indeed.

 
+1
 

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