[Exer]

I'm a head-fi lurker who has avoided posting until now, but it seems there aren't many folks out there with the Teac. I bought the UD-H01 purely for the DAC; I wanted an upgrade from the HRT MS2+ for my system (Macbook via Audirvana+ -> DAC -> Woo WA2 -> Beyer T1). Hadn't tried the headphone out until I saw your request. Plugged my T1's directly into the Teac and listened for a half hour.At the risk of being seen as a shill, here are my random thoughts:
 

1. Power / Volume isn't an issue. Comfortable listening level at around 5/8 max volume.
2. Significant loss of sound-stage relative to the WA2
3. Bass reproduction lacking in texture and quantity
4. Feeling that notes lost weight relative to WA2
5. Highs are handled well and sibilance wasn't an issue

 
From what I recall, overall handling of the T1's was better than the Nuforce HDP, another product in the same price range. Of course, my test is far less than ideal as the amp requirements for the T1's are quite a bit higher than the D2000 or the SE425, and the WA2 a much more expensive amp. I will try to dig out my Sennheiser IE8's and see how it handles those if you are interested.
 
The above shouldn't be considered a representation of the Teac's capabilities as a DAC. I found it a clear upgrade over the MS2+, with dramatically better handling of both highs/lows. I'm hoping more reviews in the coming months will vindicate this little guy as a strong competitor in the value DAC space.

 

[julianbell92]

Exer, thanks for your impressions. Out of interest, did you use the optical out from your Macbook, or USB? If you haven't tried using the USB connection before, would you mind doing so to see how well it is implemented?
 
On paper I saw this as a strong competitor to the recently released Dacmagic plus by Cambridge audio, with £50 off the price of the latter here in the UK so it's good to hear some positive feedback.
 
Finally, what's the build quality like on the product? Are the sides metal panels like the front or are they plastic?
 
Thanks

 

[Exer]

I am using USB from the Macbook and haven't tried optical yet. One of the appeals for me was USB support up to 24/192, including 24/88 and 24/176, though note that it does require installation of the driver even with the Mac, and even for 16/44. Build quality is really good. Stuff lines up where it is supposed to, it feels solid, and it doesn't look out of place next to the Woo. That said, it's clearly quality on a budget. The sides are plastic, and the glass looking top isn't glass
 
I haven't heard the Dacmagic plus, but the store where I bought the Teac sells the dacmagic plus. They felt the Teac was the better sounding unit and the better choice, IF you didn't want the extras on the dacmagic (wireless capability, extra inputs, driverless up to 24/96). 
 
Bad analogy time: Some years ago I bought a cheap fun car, the Sentra Spec-V. Twas a nice compact car that Nissan had put bigger tires on, faster engine, better clutch / transmission, etc. I called it a franken-car, because it seemed that if Nissan had spent has much time tweaking the driving feel as they did picking the parts, it would be a masterpiece. The Teac feels the same way; It's not quite a masterpiece, but it sounds better than anything I've heard around the same price and they clearly did their homework figuring out what to put into it. I'm sure that if I spent $800 and wanted to give up 24/192 USB, I could find something that sounded a little better. Likewise if I spent $1500 on the Young, Calyx, etc. I'd have something that sounded a notch or two up and have the same features. At $500 with the features it has, I think the Teac deserves a lot of attention.

 

[julianbell92]

Good to know that the USB implementation appears strong, even if it requires drivers. Would be interesting to hear a Windows user's experiences too.
 
What about the volume knob, is that metal or metal effect? Good quality plastics are perfectly fine materials to use IMO, but some people would be averse to them. Having said that, sometimes there is something reassuring about the cold touch of metal!
 
The Teac is certainly keenly priced here in the UK at £300. It doesn't seem to have garnered much attention though, perhaps if demand for it was higher, the price would be too, the value to money ratio seems excellent. I've just bought a used Little Dot Mk III in the classifieds, so I'm looking at the DAC side of this even more now; how do you feel the soundstage is handled relative to your previous DAC and in general?
 
Thanks again for your impressions.

 

[Exer]

Volume knob is plastic, but it's pretty tough to tell. It feels solid, looks like metal, and doesn't wiggle. I had to flick it with my fingernail to tell it was plastic. Note that the volume control is only used for headphone out; The DAC output via RCA is at full volume. I prefer this as I'd rather control volume on an amp than lose quality adjusting volume on a source.
 
Soundstage was as good, if not slightly better than the HRT MS2+. The biggest difference between the two was that the Teac reproduced bass noticeably better. That isn't to say that the Teac is a bass lovers DAC; I'd still describe it as neutral, but everything in the recording is there and represented faithfully. Likewise the MS2+ was a bit more prone to sibilance, and while the Teac doesn't seem to be rolling off highs, it is more gentle with peaks.
 
Jumping up to the M2Tech Young ($1700), there was a noticeable increase in soundstage and more weight to notes played from a piano or plucked on a guitar. Notes seems to more realistically linger with presence than they did on the Teac, that I'd describe as 'fast' in comparison. Of course with the Teac, you get optical / coax inputs along with the strong USB input, and balanced out. That's pretty crazy for the price-point it lives in.

 

[ACDOAN]

H

How does this beautiful  babe perform ? In  comparing with the hot-in-demand Asgard or the Matrix- M stage.
 
XLR connections look nice.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
. 

 

[gkanai]

I'm considering this as my first DAC (I am in Japan, fwiw.)

I want a decent HP amp and XLR outs, and this has both.

 

[ACDOAN]

Gkanai, any reviews in Japan regarding this piece? 

 

[gkanai]

Right now I'm not seeing too much chatter.

On Kakaku.com (the major price comparison site in Japan) one user was hearing some background noise related to Windows services, which was discussed and fixed.
 
http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/K0000290726/

 

[mmeysarosh]

Just picked up the unit and testing it out as a DAC. I've only run it for a day and mainly and via its USB and Coax inputs. To be honest, its in company of equipment that it isn't likely to meet in most situations and would not be considered a fair comparison. But I think whatever my findings should provide a pretty good understanding of what this little guy is capable off.
 
Will let you know soon!
 
Michael

 

[hugoboss]

i actually pickup the a-h01 series from teac, which have mini amp 
i was confuse before to choose the ud-h01 or ah-01, i bought the a-h01 coz  i thought the dac inside burrbrown pcm5102 32bit is better than the ud-h01 dual pcm 1795.
iam so regret after i know that dual pcm 1795 is better than single 5102, and i realize i not need the extra b&0 ice amp in ah01
so i sold it, now iam looking to ud-h01 again with hope it sound better with dac
when using ah-01 with beyer dt770 250ohm it sound good, more better than my xfi xtreme music.
so iam hoping the ud-h01 will sound better than ah-01.
 

 

[hduong]

Going to move my Audiolab 8200cd cd player and DAC to the main speaker system and get a smaller unit. A full size unit takes up too much space on my computer desk. I am looking at this DAC as well. Has all the features I want. But don't want a downgrade in sound. Going to wait for more comparisons first.

 

[mmeysarosh]

I wanted to give you my first impressions I have with this little converter. All of my listening so far have been done through the XLR outputs with sources via USB and Coax. Operationally, the unit has performed as expected.
 
The balance of the sound would bit warm side of neutral. What this also means is that detail and impact from the midrange up is shut in compared to some higher end sources. Its quite easy live with in that it provides a nicely relaxed sound and provides decent imaging. I've only had one other DAC in its price point to compare to and I can say it was certainly competitive if not a bit better overall. 
 
I still have a few more sessions to go through since it should be mostly burned in by now. I'll put some notes together to make a final post. Honestly I was hoping that digital audio had moved up to the point that this player might be able to at least keep up with a seven year old SACD player (granted a much more expensive player). At the moment this does not seem to be and I might have to look up a little further up the ladder.

 

[9VARZ]

Any word on the street so far against the Furutech GT40?
 
The balanced-out does appear to be a big draw at this point.
 
I do have a niggling suspicion that the Teac will be in an uphill battle against the Furutech, though. (As far as SQ is concerned)

 

[nossifer]

Windows user here.  Actually, a LONG time Ubuntu user to be more precise. 
 
OS Drivers: 
I got the TEAC UD-H01 DAC and just assumed that it would work fine on Ubuntu.  As of today, it doesnt.  I emailed TEAC and they basically told me to get a PC or Mac.  I have an HTPC that I formatted to XP.  The dac sucked!   It was always clicking after every song on and off as the song changed.  It was unbearable.  I switched to Windows 7.  Windows 7 can force a specific sample rate (upconvert) so that problem went away.
 
Win7 USB Drivers:
Windows 7 USB Out to the DAC is horrible.  System hogs at 70% with system interrupts.  The thing was basically unusable.  Used VLC for audio (I know nothing of Windows software anymore) and VLC was massively overdriving the bass.  A friend reco'd to use MediaMonkey, which is ok.  I'm not in love with MediaMonkey, but it is livable.  i switched from USB out to Digital Coax out.  Problem solved.  http://imgur.com/y7ser
 
Build quality of the DAC: 
Visually, the dac doesnt live up to the pictures.  It doesnt seem solidly built or very classy.  The photos make it seem like a nice brushed steel, but it is cheap and flimsy IMO.   It is "ok" I guess.  I havent opened it up or anything, but this comment is about the case.
 
Audio quality: 
I suppose it is ok.  This is my first dedicated DAC.  Prior to this, I was using my Denon AVR-3808.  This is better than the Denon (I was pre-out with the Denon).  I cannot fully comment on audio quality yet because I am still burning in my tube amp.  I will post back later when I can comment more.  I will also arrange an A/B with some friends and be able to more directly compare.