NuForce uDac-2 vs USB-SPDIF bridges
Oct 15, 2010 at 12:26 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12
MadCow

MadCow

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Has anyone directly compared the coaxial SPDIF output of the uDac or uDac-2 to other dedicated USB-SPDIF bridges like the Hiface or Halide Design Bridge?
 
Oct 15, 2010 at 9:06 AM Post #2 of 12
never touched a udac2 but I sold my udac for the hiface, undoubtedly the hiface gives much cleaner sound, more balanced,  compared to the udac. the udac is colored to me.
Hope that helps.
 
Oct 21, 2010 at 9:23 PM Post #4 of 12


Quote:
tranhieu said:
never touched a udac2 but I sold my udac for the hiface, undoubtedly the hiface gives much cleaner sound, more balanced,  compared to the udac. the udac is colored to me.
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...


??
 
The Hiface thread is littered with VERY unhappy customers. As well, while the amp/dac may be a bit "coloured" on the uDAC2, the USB to spdif conversion bypasses both. So unless you've heard it in this operation, I think extrapolations would be unfair.
 
Oct 22, 2010 at 5:48 PM Post #5 of 12


Quote:
macedonianhero said:
??
 
The Hiface thread is littered with VERY unhappy customers. As well, while the amp/dac may be a bit "coloured" on the uDAC2, the USB to spdif conversion bypasses both. So unless you've heard it in this operation, I think extrapolations would be unfair.
Click to expand...

I already stated that I never touched a udac2...
Also those very unhappy customers that you mentioned are mostly those that have problem with the driver provided by M2tech, which, is not of the topic here, since the OP is asking about a comparison of the sound.
 
 
Oct 22, 2010 at 6:01 PM Post #6 of 12
I currently use a Hiface in my rig and have used my uDAC as a SPDIF converter in the past.  uDAC is actually not that bad of a transport IMO, and I did notice that while it's less detailed or extended than the Hiface, it's very smooth and unfatiguing.  I'm happy with my Hiface as it synergizes with my gear pretty well, but uDAC would undoubtedly sound good with certain rigs as well and I do feel that it's better than most average joe USB implementations in lower/mid-range DACs.
 
Oct 23, 2010 at 12:41 PM Post #8 of 12
Please dont make any statement about the sound until you actually hear it. Imagining does not make any more sense than guessing.
I dont want to start a war here, all my comments are based on real experiences, and the OP is free to choose not to take them, and I suggest the OP should listen to both if there's a chance. 
 
Oct 23, 2010 at 8:08 PM Post #10 of 12


Quote:
tranhieu said:
Please dont make any statement about the sound until you actually hear it. Imagining does not make any more sense than guessing.
I dont want to start a war here, all my comments are based on real experiences, and the OP is free to choose not to take them, and I suggest the OP should listen to both if there's a chance. 
Click to expand...



I was simply referring to the USB to spdif conversion....not the DAC or AMP portion so my thoughts don't overly stretch too far out on the branch.
wink.gif
Especially considering this circuit was very likely unchanged between the two from my research.
 
I have heard both the uDAC (used to own) and very recently the uDAC-2 and found them very, very similar.
 
Nov 15, 2011 at 1:03 AM Post #12 of 12
The only way to connect to the uDac-2 is by means of  USB connection from a computer. Then you can either use the internal DAC/Headphone amp, or use the S/PDIF OUT to connect to a different device with a S/PDIF input bypassing the internal DAC/AMP combo. In this regard it is strictly a USB to S/PDIF converter when used in this way. There are now drivers available for Asynchronous operation on the uDac-2 as well.
 
Best Regards,
Jason Smith
NuForce Technical Support
 
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