[maninthehighcastle]

I'm thinking about buying the ud 505. in regards of the headphone amp section which seems to be most likely like the 503 how versatile is it. I want to use a variety of headphones from lcd x to hd 800. does it match? How "good" is the 505 or the older 503 in comparison to rme adi 2 dac, mytek brooklyn dac+ and the hugo chord 2 ? Thx

 

[Josef Parran]

I'm thinking about buying the ud 505. in regards of the headphone amp section which seems to be most likely like the 503 how versatile is it. I want to use a variety of headphones from lcd x to hd 800. does it match? How "good" is the 505 or the older 503 in comparison to rme adi 2 dac, mytek brooklyn dac+ and the hugo chord 2 ? Thx

The amp section on the UD-505 is identical to that of the 503, plus the addition of a 5-pole Pentaconn connector that I bet you'll have no use for. Max power output on both units is 500mW into 32Ω unbalanced, 700mW into 32Ω balanced - not bad but maybe a bit less than expected for a device this size. After going through several DAC/amp combos I've settled on the 503 and am happy with it overall. If by versatile you mean enough power for any headphone on the market, be careful with those expectations - it is a DAC-first device. It drives my 300Ω HD 650 pretty well but I wouldn't expect the same for higher impedance or power hungry cans like HIFIMAN. Always look at impedance, not just nominal impedance but ideally also maximum impedance (look up impedance graphs) to make sure the amp has enough power. Also the 505 seems outrageously expensive, considering it's largely the 503 with a new model number + Bluetooth support.

 

[maninthehighcastle]

Have you tested planars with it?

 

[Marvin42]

Have you tested planars with it?

Hi, About a week ago i've bought a HIFIMAN HE-560. I'm mostly using it in balanced mode with a Pentaconn cable that the previous user had custom made (and mostly because the cable is overall better built). So far, i've got no problem driving it with my UD-505. It is true that in unbalanced mode, you're close to the max volume setting for what i would qualify as a loud listening. But whith that kind of headphone you're most of the time in a quit environnement so it's hard to imagine being limited by the power output with the 505 or the 503, and i've never had to push the amp to it's limit during my listenning sessions (in balanced). I would recommend a balanced re-cabling if you want to drive correctly a planar.

 

[maninthehighcastle]

That does not sound very satisfying as i'm unsing unbalanced. Is there no high gain setting or something?

 

[Marvin42]

That does not sound very satisfying as i'm unsing unbalanced. Is there no high gain setting or something?

No, unfortunately there's not a lot of parameters on this DAC/Amp

 

[maninthehighcastle]

OK. Thx.

 

[Josef Parran]

Have you tested planars with it?

No experience with planars unfortunately, only my HD 650. Using regular unbalanced connection and I'm not getting anywhere near max volume. I've emailed TEAC Japan about power output and here's the numbers they gave me:

Headphone output (One headphone used)
32 ohm (MAX): Unbalanced 632mW
300 ohm (MAX): Unbalanced 116mW
600 ohm (MAX): Unbalanced 60mW

These values represent peak power, not continuous.

 

[foreverzer0]

It sounds good on my hifiman he-400s planar. Also, it's supposed to be a "current feedback" design, which is supposedly good for planars -- not sure how much that holds true. Also not sure if that's supposed to explain the not so great wattage? So far, it gets my hd800 in balanced plenty loud, but not sure if I'm missing anything. I'm thinking about getting a Massdrop THX789 amp when that's available again.

Also, for the people saying it's maxing out for their hd600, it goes up to +24 or something (past the -0db).

 

[EDN80]

The NT-505 can be had for very good prices overseas. Minus British VAT, a US customer can end up with $700 to $800 off, depending on stores. NT-505 for $1200 is a great deal (compared to the $2000 US retail price), but I do wonder about the whole 110 to 220V thing. Not to mention the basically voiding the warranty by using the TEAC in the States, or at least having to deal with international shipping if something goes wrong. From what I can see, these have no 110-220V switch, so it would have to be a voltage converter/transformer, probably at the expense of some sound quality-- though I seem to have read somewhere that some claim that 220V gear sounds naturally better than 110V gear.

 

[ve3fnd]

I ended up picking up a set of Hifiman HE-400i headphones, wow do they sound good on my UD-503.

 

[r0ss1992]

Purchased one two weeks ago for 600 euros. Imho still the best dac under 1k.

I've paired it with Beyer Amiron in unbalanced mode, what to say!? WOW!!

 

[eddyino]

Hi everybody,

Meet another owner of Teac ud-503. Bought it about a week ago mostly based on your discussion here. Thank you guys! Great sound for reasonable price.

It seems that the thread is dead. Has everybody sold the unit and moved to something better?

 

[eddyino]

I ended up picking up a set of Hifiman HE-400i headphones, wow do they sound good on my UD-503.

Did you have a chance to compare them with hd650 on Teac ud503? I own hd650 and beyer dt250.

 

[foreverzer0]

I still have my unit, but trying different amps with it now. I have a thx-789 on order in august and using a loxjie p20 to tide me over.