Teac UD 503 DAC (2015 New Release, DXD, DSD256)

[KotBegemot]

 
Great...'eager to hear your thoughts and, especially, the optimum settings you utilize.
 
FYI re cans: Using the TEAC UD-503 as a 700mw balanced headphone amp requires balanced cans terminated with double TRS 1/4 inch connectors. A new cable manufacturer, Surf Cables, in San Diego, makes similar wires at a very competative price for balanced Pono use (that were mentioned in Stereophile's laudatory review of that player.) I asked Surf to assemble a set for '503 use and they arrived the other day. Early on, my HIiFiMan HE-500's are more revealing in balanced mode than in unbalanced, and if you're otherwise satisfied with the new dac after burn-in you may wish to consider going balanced.
 
Enjoy!

Thanks for the  tip!!!!!   ... I rarely use headphones these days, but have been tempted by good offers for Sennheiser 800 on ebay, so may be will bite the bullet The velvety sound of UD-503 should go well with those . They should balance each others strength me thinks...

 

[music_man]

I had this on my bench today. it is not the quality construction f the ud-501. first5000 recalled? unacceptable. you can see why in the shoddy typical Walmart china quality of sloppy construction. I would say this is fair game for $500 not $1,000+. I am being harsh because this is a disappointment. as expected the sq of my highly modded ud-501 is much better even at 2x dsd. I am trying to figure out a way to get 4 or 8x dsd into mine but it is not that easy and not really necessary. I would still like to play with it. in much better dacs I hear a big difference between 2x and 4-8x. it looks like I will have to rework a lot of this thing to get what I want. at this point I think I am just sticking with it the way it is and my better dacs too. I am telling you guys unless you are just bent on having this, it is not worth over a grand us. the workmanship is deplorable this time. this is a shame. stock, the ud-501 looked like it might as well say esoteric on the plate. I have not kept up on this game and not really sure what competes but I was not impressed by this. the sq is good perhaps a little better than the ud-501 as a dac. if this is your head amp yes it is better. the problem lies in the construction. having already recalled the first 5k units I foresee immanent failure of these things. stock they sound worth a grand but simply put together much too sloppily. I would steer clear of this I am sorry tor report. you know I rarely post here anymore but I was asked to test this and was really disappointed what I discovered under the hood. just pure slop. I even see cold solder joints. just bad workmanship regardless of sound. you can't doubt me on this. look at it. I am sorry to be the bearer of this news. I just have no idea what came over them to do something like this. they are known for quality. I was really expecting this to be  a game changer again. there was also a greater noise floor balanced than the ud-501. most likely directly relating to the construction not the chosen components. oh well. I will say the feet are nice!

 

[KotBegemot]

  I had this on my bench today. it is not the quality construction f the ud-501. first5000 recalled? unacceptable. you can see why in the shoddy typical Walmart china quality of sloppy construction. I would say this is fair game for $500 not $1,000+. I am being harsh because this is a disappointment. as expected the sq of my highly modded ud-501 is much better even at 2x dsd. I am trying to figure out a way to get 4 or 8x dsd into mine but it is not that easy and not really necessary. I would still like to play with it. in much better dacs I hear a big difference between 2x and 4-8x. it looks like I will have to rework a lot of this thing to get what I want. at this point I think I am just sticking with it the way it is and my better dacs too. I am telling you guys unless you are just bent on having this, it is not worth over a grand us. the workmanship is deplorable this time. this is a shame. stock, the ud-501 looked like it might as well say esoteric on the plate. I have not kept up on this game and not really sure what competes but I was not impressed by this. the sq is good perhaps a little better than the ud-501 as a dac. if this is your head amp yes it is better. the problem lies in the construction. having already recalled the first 5k units I foresee immanent failure of these things. stock they sound worth a grand but simply put together much too sloppily. I would steer clear of this I am sorry tor report. you know I rarely post here anymore but I was asked to test this and was really disappointed what I discovered under the hood. just pure slop. I even see cold solder joints. just bad workmanship regardless of sound. you can't doubt me on this. look at it. I am sorry to be the bearer of this news. I just have no idea what came over them to do something like this. they are known for quality. I was really expecting this to be  a game changer again. there was also a greater noise floor balanced than the ud-501. most likely directly relating to the construction not the chosen components. oh well. I will say the feet are nice!

Well, the unit is barely out in the States, less than a month....How long have you had it, and how many break-in hours your test unit has I wonder? Also could you list the system tested within....

 

[KotBegemot]

  I had this on my bench today. it is not the quality construction f the ud-501. first5000 recalled? unacceptable. you can see why in the shoddy typical Walmart china quality of sloppy construction. I would say this is fair game for $500 not $1,000+. I am being harsh because this is a disappointment. as expected the sq of my highly modded ud-501 is much better even at 2x dsd. I am trying to figure out a way to get 4 or 8x dsd into mine but it is not that easy and not really necessary. I would still like to play with it. in much better dacs I hear a big difference between 2x and 4-8x.

Which exactly "much better" dacs are you comparing the UD-503 with?

 

[music_man]

I m not talkingabut the sound quality! I did not even get there. I am disgusted by the build quality. that's all I am saying. I had it less than an hour with less than a few hours on it. I did measure the noise floor because I saw cold solder joints on the out put jacks. that was the only reason. to be honest I did not even listen to it.
 
all I am saying is: Ferrari builds cars that go fast and look good. they would never be caught building a car that came from the factory full of rust! I understand this is not a Ferrari level dacbut what I am saying is the ud-501 was a model of inexpensive craftsmansjip. whereas this is a rats nest inside. looks like a $25 blu ray player. I at least expect it to look like an oppo. that is just an analogy nothing else. do you even care how it sounds if it is that poorly assembled? if you do, you are way more purists than I am. I have no doubt it can sound very good in that state of disarray but craftsmanship goes a long way for me. I even forgot to mention the edge of the back of the case pulled my shirt! granted, it was a flannel shirt but come on please. just get it back together, teac.
 
once again, for the record. this was not a listening test! I was simply flabbergasted by the build quality. if all you care about is sound quality above all else and only have a grand to spend this may still very well be your ticket. I do not know. I did not get that far because coming from the exemplary construction of the ud-501 I was just disgusted.
 
one other tid bit I could add. as I said the feet are nice on it. it does not appear to be nearly as rigid a chassis as the ud-501 either. they seemed to cut corners anywhere they could. metal costs money. meanwhile my ud-501 is damped with a carbon fiber plate on the bottom anyways. I have no doubt the 4x dsd will outshine the stock ud-501 and the headphone amp is balanced even though it is class ab. if all you care about is some better sound quality. sans craftsmanship. I can tell you this is never what you would get with anything that says esoteric from them.
 
that is all. my review(if you can call it that) was based on cost cutting measures not listening! I hope that clears that up. 

 

[KotBegemot]

  I m not talkingabut the sound quality! I did not even get there. I am disgusted by the build quality. that's all I am saying. I had it less than an hour with less than a few hours on it. I did measure the noise floor because I saw cold solder joints on the out put jacks. that was the only reason. to be honest I did not even listen to it.
 
all I am saying is: Ferrari builds cars that go fast and look good. they would never be caught building a car that came from the factory full of rust! I understand this is not a Ferrari level dacbut what I am saying is the ud-501 was a model of inexpensive craftsmansjip. whereas this is a rats nest inside. looks like a $25 blu ray player. I at least expect it to look like an oppo. that is just an analogy nothing else. do you even care how it sounds if it is that poorly assembled? if you do, you are way more purists than I am. I have no doubt it can sound very good in that state of disarray but craftsmanship goes a long way for me. I even forgot to mention the edge of the back of the case pulled my shirt! granted, it was a flannel shirt but come on please. just get it back together, teac.
 
once again, for the record. this was not a listening test! I was simply flabbergasted by the build quality. if all you care about is sound quality above all else and only have a grand to spend this may still very well be your ticket. I do not know. I did not get that far because coming from the exemplary construction of the ud-501 I was just disgusted.
 
one other tid bit I could add. as I said the feet are nice on it. it does not appear to be nearly as rigid a chassis as the ud-501 either. they seemed to cut corners anywhere they could. metal costs money. meanwhile my ud-501 is damped with a carbon fiber plate on the bottom anyways. I have no doubt the 4x dsd will outshine the stock ud-501 and the headphone amp is balanced even though it is class ab. if all you care about is some better sound quality. sans craftsmanship. I can tell you this is never what you would get with anything that says esoteric from them.
 
that is all. my review(if you can call it that) was based on cost cutting measures not listening! I hope that clears that up. 

Well, myself I am first and foremost concerned with  the sound quality.... I ve looked at your posts and since you say you are in the audio industry, you should be familiar with NY Audio Labs of yesteryear... Well their preamp was the best I ve ever heard , it essentially recreated the musical event anew! I saw it with lid open and it also looked like proverbial vermin's nest..... Same with Sans Pareil OTL amps, not to mention Futterman amps... If you get a chance look at the Tube Research Audio Labs mono amps with lids open, it ll probably mortify you, as there are stones within its chassis... Yet it in my not so humble opinion none of the current Swiss, German, or what have you amps that are in vogue these days that look like jewelry  can touch its sound levels with a 10 foot pole ... Same can be said for Jadis , primitive wire nest, but once music starts........ Bliss.... So may be designers at TEAC have managed to achieve the trick even with the shoddy parts quality and suspect layout Or it may be the Asahi chip.... Stranger things have happended
Having said that I ve been actively looking at Chinese modifier forums as few guys there have done quite substantial mods to the power supply ( adding regulated stages, etc) and claim that modded unit sounds fantastic ( i dont know if  I am allowed to post links to others forums thou)....  Also be curious to know how  the TEAC ud-503 will sound with  your new Extremas (having had an extensive experience with original models).... Regards

 

[music_man]

glad you checked me out I hardly post here anymore as you can see. to be honest you are not comparing apples and oranges. a lot of those amps of yesteryear are direct wired. rats nest was sort of unavoidable then and yes they sounded good. the teac just looks like they cut cost. the ud-501's construction was really something. I agree the sound is paramount. stranger things have sounded good. like Shakti stones! no seriously I am just concerned how this thing will hold up. especially with the first 5k units being recalled due to poor manufacture! hey it's your grand. I am being an idiot anyways you know I will get one of these. I will see how it sounds. the dac chip is current for sure.
 
you should also know I have had the sf speakers for some time now. I traded the old ones for them and the guarneri before that. also, without trying to be a jerk yeah they sound good! now you wonder why do I throw 1 grand Chinese dac's at this stuff. as you point out, you never know where the next best thing lies. stranger things have happened. in fact even until this day a hot rodded ud-501 is a serious machine. we shall see about the ud-503.
 
I honestly mean no insult to anyone. I am just worried they cut cost on this thing. that's all. it is evident but could be unfounded. let's hope. the last one was a stellar bargain.

 

[KotBegemot]

  glad you checked me out I hardly post here anymore as you can see. to be honest you are not comparing apples and oranges. a lot of those amps of yesteryear are direct wired. rats nest was sort of unavoidable then and yes they sounded good. the teac just looks like they cut cost. the ud-501's construction was really something. I agree the sound is paramount. stranger things have sounded good. like Shakti stones! no seriously I am just concerned how this thing will hold up. especially with the first 5k units being recalled due to poor manufacture! hey it's your grand. I am being an idiot anyways you know I will get one of these. I will see how it sounds. the dac chip is current for sure.
 
you should also know I have had the sf speakers for some time now. I traded the old ones for them and the guarneri before that. also, without trying to be a jerk yeah they sound good! now you wonder why do I throw 1 grand Chinese dac's at this stuff. as you point out, you never know where the next best thing lies. stranger things have happened. in fact even until this day a hot rodded ud-501 is a serious machine. we shall see about the ud-503.
 
I honestly mean no insult to anyone. I am just worried they cut cost on this thing. that's all. it is evident but could be unfounded. let's hope. the last one was a stellar bargain.

No insults were taken at all On the contrary I always welcome informed and different opinions!   I ve got UD-503 in my break-in set up now, have had it for couple of days, will let it cook 24/7 for 10 days, so will update the results then..Initial impressions in my main set up were mixed...Sometimes the system just sounded amazing, sometimes it was lifeless and harsh, so I pulled it out and decided to let it burn in for 250 hours, or so,  before suffering from  case of  audiophilia nervosa I will compare it to the UD-501, my Goldmund Meta Dac, my friendly audio dealer's custom, state of the art DAC, in all Nestorovic set up that is very revealing, Accuphase dac, and whatever I will find from friendly folks in local audio clubs...
 
I ve had the original Extrema at my place for whole 3 month back in mid 90s ! Still covet them...Short of Guarneri, no SF even comes close as far as musicality , so you ve got yourself amazing speakers, as Im sure you are aware .... Speaking of low cost gems, you should  try the KIng Rex UD 384 with external power supply.. It is quite a special dac, all for around $900, or so....... Living in NYC afforded me an opportunity to compare it to quite a few dacs costing ALOT (some highly touted Brit dacs), and KING rex beat them all ...Granted that is striclty IMHO of course....Also one must get KING REX Y USB cord with separate signal and power , that is another $500, but the whole combo is  supremely musical and free of digititis ....Also I noticed you are using Richard Grey power plant... Actually, I used two of their smaller "plants"  in my pre war apartment in NYC, to deal with electro gremilins.... Initially it was all peachy, but I then noticed there was no life in my systems, everything had a degree of sameness, imaging was great and sound was smooth, too smooth in fact , as thou electro vamps were sucking soul out of electrical grid ....Got rid of them in a hurry , using TICE units ever since ... Obviously you know what you talking about and I m sure your system tuned up well, but wonder how your Extremas will sound without  that RG filtering. Willing to bet a good Xo cognac that the new Extrema will sound with much more "soul", similar to your Apogee Grands (one of top 3 best  transducers of all times) .... In any event, regards

 

[music_man]

I am not using Richard gray on those. I use a ps audio in my bedroom. I moved the sf into the room powered by  battery grid. with the wilsons and apogees. you are right that kind of filtering can kind of normalize the entire audio spectrum. you know, I am constantly changing my mind. I was of course not running that system on the ud-501. it was the diamond dac iv plus and honestly that thing is too neutral as well. it is pristine but it is kind of like a robot. it is too predictable. I just used a goldmund dac in there and I guess I liked it better. It's really hard to tell at that level. you can drive yourself crazy. speakers do make a huge difference. I always had some sf's on hand. I mean even in double blind anyone could pick different speakers I am sure.
 
I just really like bargains. even if they are not the outright best. I am very interested in that level of gear. I mean I go to stores and buy the open box just to save $100. that's just a part of me. however, the hot rodded ud-501 is imo serious equipment. I am not sure what I can do with the ud-503 but I guess some Chinese people have already done it. my thing with the rats nest was if it quit. that would be very sad if someone had to save up for that and then it went kaput. just by the looks of it they used cost reducing measures. that can honestly be fine. I am not really sure why I was worried about what I saw. for the record I got manley gear with cold solder. I bet she is reading this too.
 
well, I will be very interested to see how you think it sounds. I can tell you have been around the block a few times as well. so I will value your opinion. I truly feel throwing lots of money at something does not always make it better. there are real bargains to be had.

 

[koso]

Few days ago I bought TEAC UD-503 dac. Everything is working so far, but there is one issue. Maybe You can hepl me to find out where the problem could be. I have issue with USB input (which is definitely the best of included inputs as it supports highest resolutions). My streamer/renderer AURALIC ARIES (connected to usb input of UD-503, running latest firmware) randomly does not recognize UD-503. Playback is muted randomly after "pause/resume" or "next " playback or when new file is selected to play... On “Lightning DS” Aries controller iPad application following error message appears: ”unable to open output device UD-503”. On UD-503 “USB READY” is blinking. The only way to restore playback is to switch UD-503 off and on. After this action playback is back again.
On my old (and loved) UD-501 with same config. this issue had never happend. I am using usb input as my main input, so this is big problem for me... (my complete setup: PS Audio Quintet Power Center > C.E.C. TL51XR, Auralic Aries > Teac UD 501 DAC/ UD-503 DAC > Primare I30 > Sonus Faber Minima Amator).
Could be problem with unsupported driver in Auralic Aries? Is driver other that that used in UD-501? All other inputs I tried are flawless (connected to same renderer). I am running coaxial input right now...
Auralic support suggested to switch usb cable from "audiophile grade" to any generic printed usb cable, so I tried it, but it didnt helped.
 
I am so upset I even havent started any critical listening and comparison to UD-501.
 
Any idea??

 

[sailor3]

Q. to Kot Begemot
 
 How can I find the Chinese modifier forums?
 
On inside photos I see only some Elektrolytic Capacitors.
 DIY people use several voltage regulators .
 
 regards Karl

 

[KotBegemot]

  Q. to Kot Begemot
 
 How can I find the Chinese modifier forums?
 
On inside photos I see only some Elektrolytic Capacitors.
 DIY people use several voltage regulators .
 
 regards Karl

i ve you link via PM ..use google translate

 

[KotBegemot]

  I ve sent you link via PM

 

[KotBegemot]

  Few days ago I bought TEAC UD-503 dac. Everything is working so far, but there is one issue. Maybe You can hepl me to find out where the problem could be. I have issue with USB input (which is definitely the best of included inputs as it supports highest resolutions). My streamer/renderer AURALIC ARIES (connected to usb input of UD-503, running latest firmware) randomly does not recognize UD-503. Playback is muted randomly after "pause/resume" or "next " playback or when new file is selected to play... On “Lightning DS” Aries controller iPad application following error message appears: ”unable to open output device UD-503”. On UD-503 “USB READY” is blinking. The only way to restore playback is to switch UD-503 off and on. After this action playback is back again.
On my old (and loved) UD-501 with same config. this issue had never happend. I am using usb input as my main input, so this is big problem for me... (my complete setup: PS Audio Quintet Power Center > C.E.C. TL51XR, Auralic Aries > Teac UD 501 DAC/ UD-503 DAC > Primare I30 > Sonus Faber Minima Amator).
Could be problem with unsupported driver in Auralic Aries? Is driver other that that used in UD-501? All other inputs I tried are flawless (connected to same renderer). I am running coaxial input right now...
Auralic support suggested to switch usb cable from "audiophile grade" to any generic printed usb cable, so I tried it, but it didnt helped.
 
I am so upset I even havent started any critical listening and comparison to UD-501.
 
Any idea??

Try to use USB cable with separate power and signal leads ... If available ... I believe Auralic has two USB ports.. There is   cable dealer on ebay , that sells those, for around 35$ , seems decently made, before you plunk lot more on expensive cables of this type...  Otherwise ask Auralic and Teac if they can help you to re-flash the firmware on units, one at a time .... By the way how does Auralic sound with TEACs? Any advantage over Apple TV/Airport Express, for non "high" resolution files?

 

[KotBegemot]

 
Try to use USB cable with separate power and signal leads ... If available ... I believe Auralic has two USB ports.. There is   cable dealer on ebay , that sells those, for around 35$ , seems decently made, before you plunk lot more on expensive cables of this type...  Otherwise ask Auralic and Teac if they can help you to re-flash the firmware on units, one at a time .... By the way how does Auralic sound with TEACs? Any advantage over Apple TV/Airport Express, for non "high" resolution files?

 

 
I am so upset I even havent started any critical listening and comparison to UD-501.
 
Any idea??

Critical comparo between UD 501 and UD 503 should be done when the UD 503 has at least 250 hours of break-in on it... I ve put mine 24/7 with various radios streams , so far day 4... Otherwise  unbroken it sounds like crap.....with hints of excellence.... of course your experience may be different