[Armaegis]

Sonic Unity / Encore mDSD
 

 
 
 
I was fortunate enough to have Encore send me a pre-production unit of their upcoming mDSD, a pocket-sized DAC/amp from the same pedigree designers who brought us the NuPrime uDSD which I also own. I have also owned all the iterations of the uDAC that came before it, as well as many other NuForce products. It would be fair to say that I am very familiar with their family of sound. For quick reference, here are my reviews of the uDSD and the uDAC-3.
 
To note upfront: the mDSD is currently up on indiegogo here:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/encore-mdsd-portable-usb-dac-headphone-amp#/
They've already hit their primary goal, but there are still several stretch goals to be had. I'm just gonna tell you right now: if you're in the market for a portable dac/amp in the $60 range, this should be right at the top of your list.
 
Of note (and you can get all this from the crowdfunding page):
- the only pocket dac capable of 32/384 and DSD 256 decoding
- asynchronous usb
- optical S/PDIF output and capable of DoP streaming (that's DSD over PCM streaming)
- max output >40mW
- compatible with Android, iOS, Win 7/8/10 (Windows driver download required)
 
 
Let's get started
 
So right off the hop, the mDSD is tiny. Roughly the size of a lighter, it feels very strong yet weighs a meagre 29g (that's 1oz for the Americans). The shell is machined aluminum, in two halves held together with screws; the inner surface of the aluminum is lined with clear plastic to electrically insulate the pcb. It's a bit surprising at this price point to be honest, where molded plastic or prefab cases are much more common. Even the buttons appear to be milled aluminum. I will have some shots of the interior in the next post. I wonder if the aluminum was chosen to help with heat dissipation as the mDSD does warm up a little during use.
 
All in all it feels like very solid construction. The surface is a brushed texture and doesn't show any fingerprints. The edges are bevelled to make it a bit less, well, edgy. The only other notable feature aside from the logo is the *tiny* red LED power indicator. My only gripe with the construction is that I wish the usb plug were offset to one side. When space is a premium and you have a pair of usb ports next to each other, the size of the mDSD blocks you from using adjoining ports. A simple extension cable takes care of this, but it's something to consider.
 
Installation of the drivers on my computers was simple. There's a bit of a quirk on Windows machines where the mDSD needs to be plugged in before you install the driver, but other than that it goes smoothly. I even performed a driver update and it went through the uninstall/reinstall procedure without issue. After installation, you will see a small Encore icon in your task bar for the control panel (you don't actually use the control panel for anything though; it's just to let you know the driver is loaded).
 
I was unable to test usage with my smartphone, but this was more a limitation of my shoddy phone than anything else.
 
I ran some very rough measurements in order to take a stab at figuring out the output impedance. This is making the very big assumption that the output topology will act like a simple resistor divider, which it very well may not be. The accuracy of my multimeter is also not great in this range, so take all numbers with a huge grain of salt...
10 ohm = 0.7 V
22 ohm = 0.9 V
33 ohm = 1.0 V
68 ohm = 1.0 V
180 ohm = 1.1 V
660 ohm = 1.1 V
open = 1.1 V (note: this output level was arbitrarily chosen and is not related to the max output)
 
From the first few of those, I roughly calculate output impedance from 3.3 to 5.7 ohms. Again, this was making some blunt assumptions about the topology, with a non-accurate multimeter.
 
 
With Headphones
 
In terms of sheer power, the mDSD is not what you would call a musclebound champ. Many dac/amps these days sport ridiculously high power outputs that can push speakers. But you know that saying in the speaker world where it's the first watt that matters? In the headphone world it's the first milliwatt that counts. Honestly, most headphones don't need much more than that. So just how much juice can the mDSD handle? Well my ugly test for big toys is my modded Hifiman HE-6. Yeah no, that's not going to happen here (I tried for laughs). The much more reasonable test is a set of modded Fostex T50rp's. With those, I can crank the mDSD to max and get uncomfortably loud levels and not distort. Awesome.
 
Something to keep in mind, the mDSD is designed for extremely low power consumption with portable usage in mind. You're not going to find any battery draining class-A shenanigans here, and as a low power device it is meant for easy to drive headphones and iems. Now as a reviewer of course I'm going to abuse it and report on how it performs under duress, but that's for the sake of pushing things to their limit.
 
If there's any worry about providing enough juice for iems... well don't fret. I switched to a V-Sonic GR07 after the Fostex and tapped the volume down a few steps thinking it'd be enough... big mistake as I promptly blew my ears off hitting play. Two valuable lessons learned here: the noise floor is low enough that I can't detect it with the GR07, and there is easily more than enough power to satisfy those who want to headbang and lose their hearing before their 30^th birthday.
 
Another difficult test is the Sennheiser HD598. This dynamic can in particular is great for showing off the effects of impedance curve bloom, since the HD598 has an impedance spike of nearly 5-6x in the midbass. Amps with a high output impedance will then act as a voltage divider and you get wonky frequency response that tends to follow the curve of the heaphones. Thankfully, that was not apparent here. The numbers I calculated had me slightly worried, but if there was any effect here, it was too small for me to notice. That said, I did not feel the Senn was a great match with the mDSD. It fared better with the T50rp.
 
So all that said, I haven't quite touched upon how the amp section sounds. Overall, I would consider it clean and veering on the polite side of things. I feel it's a bit lean reaching into the subbass with dynamic cans, but seems to fare better here with planar headphones (oh how I wish I still had the Oppo PM-3, I think it would have been a great match). I get a similar feeling with a couple iems; just a wee bit lean with electronica and whalesong, not noticeable with typical pop and rock. Moving into the rest of the spectrum, everything falls about where I expected it to. Nothing grating, no blips that stand out, and really isn't that a good thing? There's nothing there that makes me think I'm listening for a specific aspect of the amp. I'm just listening to music.
 
I feel the amp works best at mid volumes, the “sweet spot” so to speak. At low volumes things feel a little flat. At high volumes trying to push difficult cans, even though it's not clipping it feels like it's running low on steam. I mention this simply for the sake of completeness. With your average headphones it happily chugged along at more-than-loud-enough levels without breaking a sweat
 
 
As a DAC
 
Oh I like this. I think the performance as a dac is simply great at this price point. I might even sneak in a few more words here than I did for it as an amp, which is funny because normally I talk more about the amp section than I do dac sections. Anyhow, the mDSD has a certain “snappy” quality to it. I feel like I'm going to be stuck using onomatopoeias to describe it, but it's like the sounds “ticks” better. It's not sibilant or harsh, nor does it have that funny digital hash that makes things feel more detailed, but the detailing seems more vibrant.
 
That said, it's not as smooth or refined as more expensive dacs; there's still a bit of grain compared to the big toys. I'm not saying that the mDSD sounds sharp, it's more like... you know when you come in from the cold and you get that flush tingly sensation on your cheeks and in your hands? It's a bit like that. There's that rush, and this tingly sensation that everything seems fresher. It'll still take a moment for all the sensation to fully roll in.
 
At this price point though, the mDSD does very very well. Considered as a dac only, I'd pick it over similar products I've heard in this price range (I'll touch on some later). The fact that you get some amp and bridge duties is just a delicious bonus.
 
**sidenote: acting as USB-SPDIF bridge**
 
Many of the comments I noted in the dac section translate over into the mDSD's usage as an optical bridge. It maintains that same “snappy” quality, but now the level of refinement is really up to the dac that you're feeding into.
 
 
With the Schiit Wyrd
 
I feel compelled to write about this specific pairing, because I was very very surprised at how it turned out. I've had the Wyrd in various setups for quite some time now, and I've always been on the fence as to whether it actually did anything. With the NuPrime uDSD, I placed the Wyrd in line and *thought* there was a difference, but it's so close I can't discount the placebo effect.
 
With the mDSD however, within seconds my ears perked up. Like holy moly there was a difference, and it was for the better. My tin-foil-cap reasoning here suspects it has to do with the power section; as the uDSD with the much larger chassis has room for a more refined power supply and regulating circuitry, whereas the mDSD has very little real estate for such.
 
With the Wyrd inline, I think I actually prefer the mDSD over the uDSD acting as a dac or as bridge, feeding into my other amps. It provides that nice snappy quality of the mDSD, and further provides that next step of refinement that bumps up the mDSD performance alone. Granted, adding the Wyrd into the combo now means I'm taking up more space than the uDSD alone, and costwise I'm about the same. So this is a tomayto tomahto situation.
 
 
Competition
 
Admittedly, I haven't kept up too well with the pocket dac segment since I've been playing with the big toys. The smallest dacs that I've owned prior to this (that would be recognized by the headfi crowd) were the NuForce uDac-1/2/3 and FiiO e10k, and those each took up considerably more real estate. The NuPrime uDSD is bigger still, and while still “small” compared to full desktop units,
 
I've had a decent audition with the Audioquest Dragonfly mk1 and mk2. Sonically (and from memory) I would say the mk2 barely edges out the mDSD with a warmer and more “lush” tone, but it is almost twice the price and doesn't have the optical output.
 
Closer in price there's the FiiO e10k. The FiiO has a much warmer tone, but is frankly somewhat muddy in comparison. The main advantage is that has more power on tap, but sonically the mDSD trumps it.
 
As a direct feature competitor, I do have the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II. I mention this one specifically because it too offers optical output from the same jack and has similar power output (but no high bitrate support). It's cheaper at $25, but in terms of sound quality... well... it gets loud, that's about it. Personally I wouldn't use it for anything other than as a usb-optical bridge, and even then you have to shut off all the hidden processor settings.
 
There's the Centrance Dacport HD that I'm highly curious about, as well as the Schiit Fulla, but unfortunately I don't have any experience with those. But hey, if someone would like to send some along to me, I'd be more than happy to write up further comparisons =)
 
 
Conclusions
 
It's a decent amp, an even better DAC, and a snazzy usb-optical bridge that brings some pizazz to your regular dacs. Based on those pieces alone I'd expect something around $150-200, but all this for $60-70? Jimminy crickets what are you waiting for? If this is something that you've been shopping around for, you've got nothing to lose here and the value is fantastic.
 
The crowdfunding campaign ends in less than a week! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/encore-mdsd-portable-usb-dac-headphone-amp#/

 

[Armaegis]

Here are some pics as promised. There are a few more shots in my gallery if you dig a little. Also note that these are a pre-production unit (only 1 of 3); it's possible things may have changed or they may have refined the process. I'm guessing these may have been hand soldered, whereas a full production unit will be cleaner and done in an assembly house.
 
 

If for some reason you're thinking to yourself "gosh darn it, the mDSD is awfully fat", that big square in the middle is the culprit.
 
 
 

And yes, this is indeed an XMOS/ESS solution. If you drool over tech specs and components, then those two acronyms mean something to you. If you don't know what those are, just know that they are very popular and are the current audiophile approved components du jour. Also, you see that tiny yellow square near the top labeled LED1? That's the power indicator.
 
 

The two volume control buttons
 
 

Do you know what an oscillator is? I was going to make a reference to quartz watches and how they keep time, but who wears a watch nowadays? Anyhow, the shiny thing there is an object that produces vibrations at a very specific and extremely fast rate. This is essentially how the dac tells time.
 
 

Disassembled. Here you can see the two halves of the machined aluminum chassis, and the reflective sheen of the plastic inside so the pcb doesn't short out to the casing. The two volume buttons up top next to the screws. Machined aluminum ain't cheap kids; just take a look at those Macbooks!
 

Small enough to literally fit inside the pads of my Beyerdynamic COP (granted those are Denon pads on there).
 
 

Just to give you a shot of the underside.

 

Spoiler: the horribly messy desk of a madman

 

It's so small, can you actually find the mDSD?
Also in the picture: NuPrime IDA-8, uDSD, Schiit Wyrd, Hifiman HE-6, Sennheiser HD598, Beyerdynamic COP

 

[jasonl]

Another review from Marcus Downey of headfonics.com: http://headfonics.com/2016/02/the-encore-mdsd-by-sonic-unity/
 
Extract of the review:
"

Unlike other USB DAC sticks though the Encore mDSD decodes at fantastically high rates including 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD 256 decoding which puts it out there almost in a league of its own in terms of future proofing and reproduction capability compared to the other mere mortal sticks in the market. Both the D3 and the DragonFly hit the decode ceiling at 24-bit/96kHz so modern hi-res file formats such as PCM and DSD are off the menu. They are also priced at $99 to $149 meaning value wise on paper the mDSD packs a lot more for the same price or less. Only the LH Labs Geek Out 100/1000/V2 USB DACs, priced at around $200 plus, are capable of DSD and even then its DSD128 as opposed to the mDSD which sails onto DSD256 without stopping to catch it’s breathe."

...

"Tonally I found the mDSD to be relatively neutral with a hint of low end warmth and a forgiving but clear top end. It has a decent sense of pace and a full sounding low end extension. This is not a thin sounding neutral analytical sound. I get a strong sense of musicality from the mDSD that bodes well for my ancient 80’s rock tracks and Queen/Floyd collection. Notes are full bodied but well defined, vocals sound clear with a slightly forward presence and there is plenty of meat in lead and guitar work."

...
"

I remarked previously on the AudioEngine D3 review that I was pleasantly surprised by how USB DAC/AMP sticks performed and at $149 I thought it was reasonably good value for money. Well the mDSD just killed that notion at $99. It is probably the best value stick out there now for codec handling and sound quality. I really like being able to stick this little guy in a laptop or mobile phone and start playing my DSD128 and DSD256 tracks without a hitch. It is amazing how far DSD decoding has come down in price.

The inclusion of the ESS 9010K2M, normally reserved for good quality portable DAC’s is a good move here. Badly worked chips of this kind sound thin, unforgiving with lower treble glare. This one doesn’t. It’s a neutral sounding signature with a touch of low end warmth, a sold bass response and clean and clear vocal presence. Most importantly that treble performance is good without any accompanying irritating peaks.

Power and control is also equally impressive. Noise is absent on highly sensitive IEMs and there is enough power for most mid-tier and modern planars to sound excellent and in the case of planars pretty good for the price. The Ether C hates thin signatures and this isn’t one of them.

If you are in the marketplace for a quick audio upgrade on your PC or mobile phone sound then get the D3 instead of the mDSD. The mDSD is anything but ‘quick’, it’s too good to be defined as quick, it is a serious upgrade."

 

 

[ronnel0918]

I am really interested in backing this up.
 
Just a question, do you have a picture of the original packaging? I wonder what are the dimensions of the box (for shipping purposes). I think it's safe to assume the box (including the Encore mDSD weighs < 100 grams, isn't it?

 

[jasonl]

The mDSD is 29g net, so the packaging paper and foam probably add another 29g. 
And then there is the foam padded shipping envelop (to keep shipping cost low we will not use another box).

 

[Armaegis]

  Just a question, do you have a picture of the original packaging? I wonder what are the dimensions of the box (for shipping purposes). I think it's safe to assume the box (including the Encore mDSD weighs < 100 grams, isn't it?

 
While I don't have the original packaging, I threw some cardboard, foam, padded envelope, and the mDSD onto a scale and got 52g.

 

[Armaegis]

Ok I've updated the second post with some images.

 

[ronnel0918]

Thanks for the info! Already contributed to the campaign. I am now very excited to receive mine. 

 

 

[ronnel0918]

Hi again!
 
Sorry if this was asked before but will it work flawlessly on Windows 10 using USB 3.0? Some USB DAC/Amp seems to have problem with USB 3.0.
 
Also, do they need a separate driver to work in Windows 10?

 

[Armaegis]

It's the same driver for Win10. Unfortunately I am not able to test it on usb3, although why would you waste a usb3 port on an audio device? Even high rez audio barely scratches at the bandwidth of usb2.

 

[Hutnicks]

  It's the same driver for Win10. Unfortunately I am not able to test it on usb3, although why would you waste a usb3 port on an audio device? Even high rez audio barely scratches at the bandwidth of usb2.

Possibly one might have several devices and contention could be an issue with 2's bandwidth.

 

[Armaegis]

 
Possibly one might have several devices and contention could be an issue with 2's bandwidth.

 
 
Maaaaaybe... but if you had devices sucking up that much bandwidth, they would be using the usb3 ports to begin with

 
And if you're running a lot of heavy processing in the background, your fidelity is going to be compromised anyways and usb3 will make no difference there.

 

[Hutnicks]

   
 
Maaaaaybe... but if you had devices sucking up that much bandwidth, they would be using the usb3 ports to begin with

 
And if you're running a lot of heavy processing in the background, your fidelity is going to be compromised anyways and usb3 will make no difference there.

Problem here is USB just is not that smart an interface. Computer manu's are not that charitable either. I am thinking in terms of a laptop where they are prone to hanging ever internal device they can conceive of off the USB buss. Cheaper for them to do that. Depending on what software you are using for playback a lot of buffering is usually a good thing and 3 can make that a lot less painless.

 

[Armaegis]

Perhaps, but even buffering a pile of songs I don't see that coming close to throttling the usb2 bus.

 

[ronnel0918]

  It's the same driver for Win10. Unfortunately I am not able to test it on usb3, although why would you waste a usb3 port on an audio device? Even high rez audio barely scratches at the bandwidth of usb2.

 
Thanks! My motherboard has 2x USB 2.0 and 4x USB 3.0. I am using both USB 2.0 for my wireless mice and wireless USB adapter.