[ajreynol]

Hey guys, is there an optimal volume level for the DAC-80? My old Nuforce Icon had a "sweet spot" at round 3'oclock on the dial. Wondering if this DAC has a similar sort of thing, or if should be cranked all the way up and the volume controlled only by my Amp.
 
Also, when connect to PC, is there any reason to not set it to default to 24/192Hz?
 
Thanks!

 

[johnnyb]

Hey guys, is there an optimal volume level for the DAC-80? My old Nuforce Icon had a "sweet spot" at round 3'oclock on the dial. Wondering if this DAC has a similar sort of thing, or if should be cranked all the way up and the volume controlled only by my Amp.

Also, when connect to PC, is there any reason to not set it to default to 24/192Hz?

Thanks!

Might be psychological, but I like mine turned all the way up, and I control volume with my amp. Sometimes this leaves too little variation in the low volumes and I'll tweak it down to 3/4.

And I don't up-sample on the PC. Sounds great at original sample rates. A benefit of a quality DAC I guess.

 

[ajreynol]

Quick question for anyone that knows:
 
Should the Dac80 be listing itself as SPDIF OUT even if it's connected via USB?
 

 
I just want to make sure that's normal, as I've noticed some instability problems. Sometimes the DAC will stop working and I need to unplug the USB cable and plug it back in. I had to do that a moment ago as the audio just stopped while watching Netflix. When I unplugged it, I instantly got hit with a BSOD, which is the first time I've seen one in years of using Windows 10. Both are things that never happened when using my older Nuforce Icon HDP as a DAC. It's 100% related to the Dac80 and I want to figure out if its the DAC itself (hardware issue?), the drivers or something else.
 
Thanks to anyone that can verify or help confirm any of this stuff.

 

[Mike Marschall]

  Quick question for anyone that knows:
 
Should the Dac80 be listing itself as SPDIF OUT even if it's connected via USB?
 

 
I just want to make sure that's normal, as I've noticed some instability problems. Sometimes the DAC will stop working and I need to unplug the USB cable and plug it back in. I had to do that a moment ago as the audio just stopped while watching Netflix. When I unplugged it, I instantly got hit with a BSOD, which is the first time I've seen one in years of using Windows 10. Both are things that never happened when using my older Nuforce Icon HDP as a DAC. It's 100% related to the Dac80 and I want to figure out if its the DAC itself (hardware issue?), the drivers or something else.
 
Thanks to anyone that can verify or help confirm any of this stuff.

 
I can confirm mine says SPDIF as well when it is hooked up to my Windows using USB. I can't comment on reliability, drivers, or crashing. I really rarely use it in Windows. When I have used it, it has worked well though. 

 

[ajreynol]

Thanks, Mike. I'll keep that in mind. I reinstalled the drivers and will give their support line a call either today or Monday if they aren't open on the weekends. 

 

[johnnyb]

Thanks, Mike. I'll keep that in mind. I reinstalled the drivers and will give their support line a call either today or Monday if they aren't open on the weekends. 

Take a look at the physical connection too. The BSOD you describe reminds me of a PC I had with a bad USB jack.

 

[ajreynol]

Take a look at the physical connection too. The BSOD you describe reminds me of a PC I had with a bad USB jack.

Everything appears to be in order. 
 
I'll try a different cable tomorrow. I'm using the flimsy one that came with the DAC. Maybe a more sturdy one will be more stable? More secure? Idunno. I have changed USB jacks on the PC so I guess we'll see if the combination solves the issue. I hope so.

 

[ajreynol]

Welp, I'm getting ready to RMA my DAC-80 due to continued blue screening, but before I do I want to make sure it's not a driver issue. Can anyone on Windows 10 (or any version of Windows, I guess) confirm that this is the driver and version you see in Device Manager? Thanks.

 

[Tim Le]

So this dac is currently being offered on Massdrop again. Are there any known QC issues? I find it strange that a relatively new product is being offered for so much lower than its MSRP.

And if the ability to play DSD is not important to me, are there any other competitive offerings in the $300 price bracket?

As far as my listening preference, I'm not a basshead, but I do like my bass a bit north of neutral. Bright treble doesn't really bother me, I can listen to my DT 990 for hours.

Thanks everyone

 

[ajreynol]

Hey guys, quick question: if the DAC80 is left in the default voltage position (230V) while living in the USA (where I believe 115V is most common), could that cause the kinds of malfunctions I was seeing?

Did anyone who has this in the US *not* flip the voltage switch? Just curious.

 

[DRHamp]

DAC80 on Massdrop again - $249 - should I?

 

[johnnyb]

I'm still using the DAC-80 with a Nuforce HA-200. It's a great pairing. I'm not sure it works well with every amp -- for instance connecting the DAC80 to a different class A amp powering loudspeakers sounds very detailed but a bit harsh to me. I think the laid-back HA-200 is just a nice match for the DAC80 detail. The DAC80's low end is also very nice -- and will likely beat any dac that you can buy retail for 250USD.

The only downside that I can think of is the weird static noise that it makes when you first turn it on. There is a pause, then some digital "static" -- then music. Documented in a number of reviews. I just wait a moment before putting on the headphones.

 

[DRHamp]

Probably been covered earlier, if so I missed it, Can the DAC80 be used as a dac/preamp, controlling volume from the DAC80?

 

[johnnyb]

Probably been covered earlier, if so I missed it, Can the DAC80 be used as a dac/preamp, controlling volume from the DAC80?

It is possible to use the DAC80 this way. I don't know if it is the preferred setup. It probably depends on the pairing with the amp. Works fine for me in testing, but I don't use it because of usability concerns. There is a remote control that adjusts the volume digitally -- without turning the volume knob. That means that when you touch the rotating volume control after adjusting with the remote, it will suddenly change volume to the setting of the volume knob.