Teac UD 503 DAC (2015 New Release, DXD, DSD256)
Mar 5, 2016 at 9:59 AM Post #136 of 572
Also, does anybody know where to buy suitable balanced cables to connect my LCD-2 to the UD-503?

Thanks

 
I'll second that!
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Mar 5, 2016 at 8:40 PM Post #137 of 572
Funny you should ask, I'd just posted this review in the Sennheiser HD 700 Impressions Thread...
 
Well I ordered a 6-foot heavy gauge custom made balanced cable for the HD700’s from Surf Cables, and today they arrived.  Here’s some initial impressions on the cable itself, followed by use with my Teac UD-503’s head amp (HA), and the music used to “test” them along with some final thoughts.
 
So as mentioned these are custom made balanced cables made by Surf Cables for the HD700’s. Instead of the standard XLR balanced end, these come 2 quarter inch jacks. I wanted those as the UD-503 uses this layout for both Balance and Active Ground mode (Bal / AG) connections.  You simply plug the left jack into the left headphone input, and the right into the right. Choose Bal or AG and you’re set.  To be honest I’ve not been able to discern any difference whatsoever between Bal and AG… well I take that back, there is ever so slight difference, but really nothing to make you stick with one or the other.
 
The construction is quality and they seem to be made with high quality materials. The cable wires are 20-guage, (can also be had in a smaller 24 gauge) with a black nylon sleeve covering.  Surf Cables states their wires are silver plated copper with a Teflon insulation. The ¼ inch connectors are made by Neutrik. Not sure who makes the ends going into the headphones but they’re metal and gold plated. Of note is they don’t have the lock mechanism like those that come with the HD700, but they aren’t loose fitting.
 
You also get a black canvas type pouch with the company’s name and logo on it.  Cost was $160 flat with free shipping.  I ordered Wednesday and received today (Saturday). That’s darn good service there!!!
 

 
Sound… I’m not sure where credit (or blame) goes where sound is concerned because they definitely make a difference in sound over the supplied HD700 cable.
 
First the setup. And by no means am I a professional audiophile reviewer so take “my test results” with a grain of salt. With that…
JRiver Media Center 21, with DSP enhancements off (no EQ or up-sampling).  Music files encoded in Monkey (APE).  Teac UD-503: Filter off, up-sampled to 192k and DSD (filter 150k).
 
For reference I always listen to two songs to determine how well I like a headphone – Hiromi’s title track 11:49 PM (YouTube clip) off her Move CD, and J’s Bee Naked off their 5 (Five) CD. 
 
On 11:49, I love the way she opens up with her piano solo (in the bass region), for about a minute then have Simon Phillips come in with his drums.  Anthony Jackson follows and hits you with his bass notes and from there the jam is on until closed by Hiromi’s solo play again in which you imagining an ice skater finishing off her closing performance with fast paced spiral. With the HD700’s this track sounds live with a luscious open soundstage. 
 
Then there’s J’s Bee Naked which is a keyboard/piano solo piece played on the bass end of the spectrum that provides a richness of sound. There’s an airiness about this piece that’s both haunting and beautiful.  It’s a track I often use when closing a CD – whether jazz or lounge music.  Again, with the HD700’s airiness, this piece sounds really wonderful, as well as powerful.
 
That said, with the standard stereo cable of the HD700’s, and the UD-503 in Stereo mode, the HD700’s sound wonderfully airy though a tad bright with good bass extension. 
 
BTW playing other types of music reveals the same… less airy, more weight. I also need to state that that the UD-503’s HA for Stereo is rated at 500mv + 500mv pair into 32 Ohms, whereas Bal/AG is 700mv + 700mv at 32Ohms.  The impedance range of the head amp 16-600 Ohms.  Note the HD 700 is 150 Ohms.
 
Now, with the balanced cables, and the UD-503’s head amp set to either Bal or AG mode, the phones sound more balanced, weighty, and less airy; however, the bass notes don’t seem to go as deep as they do in stereo mode.  Is this a result of the cables, the UD-503’s HA, or perhaps a combination of both?
 
Unfortunately, you can’t use the standard stereo cable of the HD700’s in Bal or AG mode because they aren’t designed for that and won’t sound right; thus you can’t compare them to a balanced cable.
 
At the end of the day I suppose it comes down to what you like in your music and the equipment used. Before the HD700’s came along, airy wasn’t my thing. Now that’s I’ve gotten a taste of airy, I rather like what the HD700’s brings, especially their openness in stereo mode under the Teac UD-503.
 
On the other hand, I also like the warmer more balance sound they seem to provide with the balanced cables from Surf Cables under the Teac UD-503’s balanced mode. 
 
So, I ask again, who gets the credit (or blame) here?
 

 
Peace
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Mar 6, 2016 at 10:52 AM Post #139 of 572
So I'm looking at this thing....
 
True balanced
AK4490
Native DSD decoding
FPGA-based DSD oversampling
Non-oversampling option??
High quality single-ended output
Preamp section
CLOCK INPUT
DOP over coax AND optical??
Transistor-based volume control
Discreet headphone amp section
Vibration control
$1,000
 
WOW that is sum value proposition. I'm seriously about to impulse buy one. I'm thinking -- pair this bad boy with an Audiobyte Hydra-Z with it's USB bridge + femto clock output sync.
 
Mar 6, 2016 at 12:00 PM Post #140 of 572
  Try disable the upsampling. Also, thick cable gauge will lose airiness, make sure it's as thin as it can without losing bass.

 
If that's true, I wish I'd known that before I had the cable made. Anyway Surf Cables actually states heavy cable improves performance: Comparison of Standard and Heavy silver teflon headphone wire.
 
Oh, and even though it's not in the review, I tried all sorts sampling frequencies including off, and it really made no difference.  Anyway I'm not sure if this was a function of the cable, phones, or DAC.  I just know things sounded different in balanced mode; not necessarily bad, but different.
 
Mar 6, 2016 at 5:31 PM Post #141 of 572
   
If that's true, I wish I'd known that before I had the cable made. Anyway Surf Cables actually states heavy cable improves performance: Comparison of Standard and Heavy silver teflon headphone wire.
 
Oh, and even though it's not in the review, I tried all sorts sampling frequencies including off, and it really made no difference.  Anyway I'm not sure if this was a function of the cable, phones, or DAC.  I just know things sounded different in balanced mode; not necessarily bad, but different.

Another thing you could try is contact Pro Audio LA and have them make you one using Mogami cable. It should be much cheaper and should be accurate as well.
 
Mar 6, 2016 at 8:11 PM Post #143 of 572
  Another thing you could try is contact Pro Audio LA and have them make you one using Mogami cable. It should be much cheaper and should be accurate as well.

 
Or I could contact Surf Cables and have them make me another pair if I felt the need to do so.
 
Anyway having spent $160 bucks on these, plus other incidentals, plus the DAC, and the headphones, all this just to get into the "audiophile" sphere, I think I've spent well enough and am thus done with chasing the golden goose of sound. What I have now will simply have to do.
 
Thanks.
 
Mar 6, 2016 at 8:27 PM Post #144 of 572
   
Or I could contact Surf Cables and have them make me another pair if I felt the need to do so.
 
Anyway having spent $160 bucks on these, plus other incidentals, plus the DAC, and the headphones, all this just to get into the "audiophile" sphere, I think I've spent well enough and am thus done with chasing the golden goose of sound. What I have now will simply have to do.
 
Thanks.

It's your money. custom pro audio cables should cost you less than $50. My experience is on the speaker side (both speaker and line level xlr cables), I tried quite a few cables, some very expensive "audiophile" cables too. Let's just say all my cables are now Mogami, and nothing but Mogami.  There really is no comparison if you are after accuracy.
 
Mar 7, 2016 at 9:44 PM Post #147 of 572
Hello,
 
Any reviews for this DAC?
 
What is the point of not using the 4 pin balanced XLR?
My concern is about using a balanced headphone adaptor (4pin XLR female to two 3.5 balanced male). This adaptor might degrade the sound, not sure!
 
Mar 7, 2016 at 10:09 PM Post #148 of 572
  Hello,
 
Any reviews for this DAC?
 
What is the point of not using the 4 pin balanced XLR?
My concern is about using a balanced headphone adaptor (4pin XLR female to two 3.5 balanced male). This adaptor might degrade the sound, not sure!


I'm guessing you didn't read the review at top this page?
 
Anyway the XLR connectors in the back of the unit are for speakers, not headphones. If you want balanced headphones you'll need a cable made with two (2) I/4 headphone jacks (TRS). That's what I did. Read my review at top.
 
Peace
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Mar 7, 2016 at 10:17 PM Post #149 of 572
 
I'm guessing you didn't read the review at top this page?
 
Anyway the XLR connectors in the back of the unit are for speakers, not headphones. If you want balanced headphones you'll need a cable made with two (2) I/4 headphone jacks (TRS). That's what I did. Read my review at top.
 
Peace
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Sorry I skipped your review because I thought that you are only talking about the adaptor. 
 
I will read it now 
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Mar 7, 2016 at 10:22 PM Post #150 of 572
Well yeah, I am talking about the cable, but it also goes to the head amp as well
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Anyway don't misconstrue the my confusion to be a "degradation" issue, it's simply a matter of what sounds better (or worse) to you.
 

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