[music_man]

moch, the 503 does have a better headphone amp. i only used these as a dac. i have much better amps than this. i understand not everyone can get both. in that regard the 503 is a very nice dac and head amp. if not going to mod the 503 is better than the 501 and probably the other amps you mention. it is very nice sounding for the price. i did not touch the head amp in my heavily modded 501 because i do not use it. my feeling is one component should do one job. again, i understand some have other considerations.
 
syg, that is jriver. it does it on other dacs too. i just put up with it. it has to do with the usb bus locking it up not the dac. well sort of. it is the communication between the computer and the device. it is running very fast on usb 2.0. there wil sometimes be errors. when the signal is locked there should be no problem. i do always use any dacs driver wrapped in the foo asio proxy you can find on sourceforge. many disagree but i find it provides better sound and more stability as it is a faster driver than most manufacturers offer with their dacs. it is that driver doing the heavy lifting then. should have less issues that way. ymmv.

 

[sygnus21]

 
syg, that is jriver. it does it on other dacs too. i just put up with it. it has to do with the usb bus locking it up not the dac. well sort of. it is the communication between the computer and the device. it is running very fast on usb 2.0. there wil sometimes be errors. when the signal is locked there should be no problem. i do always use any dacs driver wrapped in the foo asio proxy you can find on sourceforge. many disagree but i find it provides better sound and more stability as it is a faster driver than most manufacturers offer with their dacs. it is that driver doing the heavy lifting then. should have less issues that way. ymmv.

Thanks music_man, appreciate the info on the USB bus getting locked up; not sure that's exactly it, but it does seem to make sense. For now I'm going to stick with WASAPI; though, since I'm still using the USB connection, I'm not sure that'll solve the issue but at least I have an idea of what's happening now.  And for the record I also have the Optical (SPDIF) side hooked up, but it seems to me that the USB side sounds more open and warm.
 
Anyway I'm still learning the DAC and JRiver. One thing I discovered is the 503 seems to sound more natural and warm on JRiver than iTunes.  That said, I'm still not sure if I'm ready to pay for JRiver just yet. Still have 7 days left before my trial run expires so...
 
Oh, and I tried Teac's HR Audio Player and all I can say is it is horribly limited as a music player.   
 
Anyway thanks.

 

[music_man]

jriver is a better music engine than itunes period. that is why you hear the difference. itunes is really a consumer product where jriver is focused on audio quality. i would highly recommend purchasing it. usb is better for audio than tos or coax. with a dac like the 503 that uses the +5v you would do yourself well to get some type of isolation. the jitterbug is only $40 at abt and if you ask nicely they may sell it for $35. worth every penny and i bet you hear the difference even though no scope on the planet can measure anything different. ifi is not worth it unless you have a more expensive dac but then more expensive dacs should not need it. i still hear the difference on any dac and ifi is the better one. one thing that for sure trickled down from esoteric is the feet. no isolation needed good feet on this. hr player is only meant to be very basic so people can try dsd. i would never use that as my audio player. jriver is much more than great audio, video too. the price is very fair for what you get there. i highly recommend it. you can try wrapping the teac usb driver in the foo asio and i bet you hear that difference too. try it before your 7 days because that only works on jriver. i find with lowwer end dacs i love to upsample to dsd. great sound. oddly very high end dacs suck at upsampling redbook to dsd. i never got that but it is with all of them.
 
it is for certain the usb bus. just restart it. it is a bandwidth limitation of usb 2.0. that is why only usb can do dsd but they pushed it too far. new dacs will no doubt use usb 3.0 or 3.1. you can see the difference on a usb 3.0 hard drive. put it on 2.0 and it starts having errors. that is a shame but it was just what everyone had to work with then. there were no 3.0 or 3.1 receiver boards. still not in fact afaik. there will be no doubt. especially if you are pushing like 10x dsd. usb 2.0 simply cannot do that. this is a lot of data moving very fast. packet size is huge but make sure use large buffers is checked. that can help if it is not checked already. teac uses an off the shelf usb receiver board and they just did not have 3.0 or 3.1 at the time of release. generally it works fine though. once in a while i get an error on any dac. i promise you it is not jriver.
 
now, go and get yourself a belkin gold usb cable. make sure it is the gold series. 6 feet is like 10 bucks on amazon. snatch it up because they are no longer made. i will promise you that you must spend at least $1,000usd on a six foot usb cable to hear an improvement! it strangely is better than almost any usb cable for audio. i bet you will hear that too. plug it into the jitterbug and you have a very nice little setup right there. rivaling a $1,500 setup.
 
to be honest i have much better stock dacs than my hot rodded 501 but i built it mostly myself before i got sick and it was a nice exercise. it can compete with most 5 grand dacs. it will not compete with msb or gryphon but that is just completely unfair to compare it to those. i still say if anyone wants to mod go get a cheap 501 on ebay. otherwise the 503 dac is better and the head amp in it is much better. 

 

[sterling1]

I do not believe jriver to be better than iTunes. In fact, iTunes appears to be the defacto mujsic player on the planet because it's comprehensive qualities are indeed  unmatched. In any experiment I've performed making comparisons from what I hear off iTunes to SACD, I cannot distinguish the sound from one source over the other as being better, in any way that better could be discerned. Plus, with Airport Express and AirPlay  integration to iTunes, iTunes is most convenient too.

 

[sygnus21]

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
now, go and get yourself a belkin gold usb cable. make sure it is the gold series. 6 feet is like 10 bucks on amazon. snatch it up because they are no longer made. i will promise you that you must spend at least $1,000usd on a six foot usb cable to hear an improvement! it strangely is better than almost any usb cable for audio. i bet you will hear that too. plug it into the jitterbug and you have a very nice little setup right there. rivaling a $1,500 setup.

Thanks music_man for the info once again. I see you're very knowledgeable in this area, and I appreciate the tips. And good info on the USB anomalies, that helps a lot. 
 
Oh, and I actually did get a Belkin's 6-foot USB Gold series cable to go with the DAC. I was already familiar with Belkin anyway as I use a lot of their USB cables for my PC connections. However what swayed me to use it as an audio cable was an article I read here which listed the cable as a good choice of cable for a fraction of the cost of high end ones.  That said, I "might" look at another cable, but I'm not willing to drop more than 40 bucks for one.
 
Thanks for the help.
 

  I do not believe jriver to be better than iTunes. In fact, iTunes appears to be the defacto mujsic player on the planet because it's comprehensive qualities are indeed  unmatched. In any experiment I've performed making comparisons from what I hear off iTunes to SACD, I cannot distinguish the sound from one source over the other as being better, in any way that better could be discerned. Plus, with Airport Express and AirPlay  integration to iTunes, iTunes is most convenient too.

 
As one who has been using iTunes for about 10 years now, and will continue to use it, it has nothing on the feature rich JRiver in terms of customizability, format playback, and encoding.  In fact, that it doesn't at least do Flac encoding further pushes me towards JRiver (though with JRiver I'm using APE as my encoder).  At any rate since I currently have no DSD music files iTunes would have been perfect for me had it at least supported Flac.
 
As for sound, that is such a subjective thing, but in my mind I do think JRiver sounds better than iTunes - JRiver sounds a bit warmer and more natural than iTunes, where iTunes tends to sound a bit "digital" at times.  And this is with both players using the same music files encoded in AAC under iTunes.  JRiver simply makes these files sound better.
 
Now I've got no bones to pick with iTunes, I like it and will keep it, but as an audiophile player, it falls short in my opinion. But, like all things, that depends on what you're looking for.
 
Oh, and the reason  "iTunes appears to be the defacto mujsic player on the planet" is more to do with Apple's popularity and the iPod than anything else. Throw in the fact that it's free and, yeah, you'll have millions of users.  Comparing it as a high end audiophile player however may reveal a different truth - 20 Audio Applications To Enhance Your Music Listening Experience
 
My two cents. 

 

[music_man]

i appreciate that you consider me knowledgeable yes the thing with itunes is just apple. apple, period. it is like sony or nike. everyone knows it. surprised the company is still standing without jobs anyways. he was a personal friend i went to his funeral and i miss him a lot. you don't even no what jriver can do itunes can't. it is completely customization 100%. . i can write a skin to make it look like anything but no need there are 1000's of them already. the engine is simply superior plus it has virtually endless plugin support. go try plugging in a $25,000 pro asio driver! of course that is really for recording and little use to us given the price. wrap the driver in foo asio and you are ready to go. for free. if you understand sound science. like nike most known but not the best shoes. the very fact it does not play flac and a host of other files completely useless for me. i would honestly only rip to redbook if you have space. flac a close second. goes downhill from there. most itunes store music is 128kbps or even 320kbps mp3. you are not going to catch me paying money for that. i always buy the cd unless it was only digitally released. i have not kidding over 50,000 cd's and perhaps 250,000 vinyl. it is an entire barn worth.however i only have maybe 200 sacd and dvd-a. i think dsd wll go where sacd went. although on lower end dacs i really do prefer to upsample to dsd. i find it sounds better on all of them. likewise, on higher end dacs it sounds horrible. that i just don't know why. so i am hardly invested in sacd/dsd.
 
forget the cable for $40 unless you spend it on an optical one if you need it. i said seriously i need to get into $1,000+ cables to get better than that belkin. just plug it in the jitterbug and the sound is going to be better regardless of what dac you have.
 
hey, we don't need to argue itunes though. everyone is entitled to their opinion and i respect that. whatever works for you is the best.
 
it comes with my highest recommendation to purchase jriver. just a warning and not directed at anyone but do not crack it it will break it completely and is also a virus. they deserve to be paid for that regardless. thousands of hours went into the development of it and the price is very fair.

 

[Ramses13]

Just subscribed here to share this article I have found regarding the 503er DAC development. I found the filter chart interesting. The teac user-guide is not very detailed.
 
http://www.absolutesound.com.sg/media-features/why-did-teac-use-the-ak4490-dac-in-the-ud-503/
 
maybe someone finds interesting.

 

[coli]

del

 

[sygnus21]

Well I received my Sennheiser HD 700’s Monday and have been getting burned in ever since.  At first I didn’t like them and thought they were too “airy” for my tastes.  I also thought they were defective as they sounded a bit too thin. I actually posted about the issue at one of the Head Fi forums here: Sennheiser HD 700 Impressions Thread - Page 393 (post # 5880)
 
Anyway long story short, the issue is resolved and I must say I’m highly impressed with both the UD-503's head amp as well as the HD 700’s.  What a wonderful combination here. The amp really drives these phones and the sound is now clear and full.  Channel separation and spaciousness is impressive.  The music is nice and warm, nothing harsh here.
 
On a different matter, I actually bought AudioQuests’s Jitterbug, gave it a try… and it’s going back.  To me the only difference it makes is rolling off the bass notes; that is without it bass notes tend to extend out further, where using the Jitterbug cuts the notes short.  I’m not the only one who said this as I’ve read reviews where others noted the same and also returned it because of that.  It also seems the music sounds a bit louder and fuller without it, again, lower notes. 
 
Then there’s this note from Teac… “Isolation circuit that completely separates the grounding of the digital and analog sections between the digital and analog sections, the circuit design uses a digital isolator to completely isolate both the power supply and the ground. So, all noise coming from digital input sources, starting with noise from the computer via USB, is prevented from entering the analog section by way of the power line or the ground. An isolation circuit offers significant benefit particularly when playing high-resolution audio sources with high sampling rates. The UD-503 is the first product in our Reference Series to include one.”
 
Source: Teac UD-503  (left side verbiage, 7th section down near the bottom). I don’t know if that’s sales hype of not, but I do know the Jitterbug didn’t do anything for me, except cut off my bass notes.  I also swapped out the Belkin Gold cable for an AudioQuest Pearl USB cable... again, I can't say I noticed a difference, but it certainly didn’t take anything away from the music like the Jitterbug did.
 
All in all, I’m very happy with the UD-503, and with the Sennheiser HD700’s it pure bliss.
 
Oh, I ordered some balanced cables I had custom made for my HD700 for use on the UD-503 and can’t wait to see how they work out when I get them. More to come.
 
Out…

 

[GUTB]

The Jitterbug is just a filter. Taking away from the sound is pretty unacceptable and I would have returned it instantly as well.
 
With my Modi 2, I tried a DH Labs Silversonic USB cable -- I heard no difference. Of course, that is by no means a high-end cable so take that finding for what it's worth.
 
What DID have a major impact on my Modi was the Wyrd; unlike a filter like the Jitterbug, the Wyrd rebuilds / re-clocks the USB signal using a very low-noise power supply. The digital-like glare of notes, especially noticeable when there was a lot of information coming in, such as like in a chorus, which caused notes to smear together, was completely eliminated. Best $100 I ever spent on my system.

 

[sygnus21]

 

 
Yeah I heard a lot about the Jitterbug and wanted to give it a try. I did, and didn't like how it changed the sound so back it's going.
 
I also heard about the Wyrd as well as the Upton Regen, but honestly I could spend a fortune trying to get that perfect sound that may or may not be achievable. In the end I'll just have to trust the 503, or whatever can handle most distortions where it doesn't impact the music too much.Being the jitterbug was small and cheap I figured I'd give it a try. 
 
As for the Audioquest USB cable, this was their entry level "premium" cable that only cost me $28 bucks (now ballooned up to $45) on Amazon for 1.5 meters. To be honest I can't tell the difference between it, and the $8.99 Belken Gold cable I'd originally bought when I got the DAC. But hey, it's supposed to be a "better cable" so I'll keep it. But the Jitterbug is going back.
 
Peace.

 

[coli]

TEAC (or any properly designed DACs) handles input jitter properly already. Any DAC that needs jtterbug is most likely an "audiophile" DAC designed by people that doesn't know what they are doing.

 

[sygnus21]

Not that I fully disagree, in fact I feel that way about the UD-503 (that it should work as is); But, there's a reason there's a performance aftermarket for most goods... people want to "improve" the performance of their products. Whether those improvements are actual or perceived can be debated. Some work, some don't. 

 

[music_man]

the jitterbug changes my sound for the better and i am using a very high end dac right now. not my ud-501. i have it in front of the iusb 3.0 and behind that is a isolated linear power supply. the usb cable has no +5v wire. this dac does not use any usb power anyways and has galvanic isolation too. perhaps the jitterbug does not jive with your computer but i doubt the ud-503 dislikes it. i honestly think for the price it is good. you can get them for 35 bucks. i am just into total overkill but it is not really required. i love my sound but this is well into six figures. for the ud-503 it is probably the best dac under 2 grand imo. it does not require any type of isolation either. what i like best about it is they borrowed the feet from their esoteric. besides the sound of course.

 

[TomBiel]

Hi

Can I connect the UD-503 to a iDevice? Would it play hiRes/DSD using a hiRes App on from my iPhone/IPad?

Also, does anybody know where to buy suitable balanced cables to connect my LCD-2 to the UD-503?

Thanks