[penmarker]

Quote:

 
Ahh thanks for the clarification, in fact most starter speakers are active speakers (ones that comes with a volume control). Thanks!

Yeah, in fact I'm using a pair of low end 2.0 speakers myself. Edifier R1900T II, I just use the line out from my Aune T1 so it is unamped. That is the proper way to connect powered speakers.

 

[dtmhtk]

Thanks guys! Now I have some more questions.
1. Since active speakers have built in amp will I benefit if I get the Hifimediy Sabre with the set up of DAC -> speakers (Creative T20)-> IEM/headphone through the 3.5 mm jack on the speaker?
2. I know this is rather subjective, but how much of an improvement am I expected to see from the onboard audio from laptop since my gears (Beyer DTX 501p, HiFiMAN RE-400, Creative T20) are all entry level and I do not plan to upgrade anytime soon. Thanks!

 

[tzjin]

Quote:

Exactly what mrAdrian said. And while you could plug your headphones straight into the DAC, it'll probably blow out a pair of 32 Ohm headphones. 

I regularly run my GR07 straight out of the UD100 and have had no problems yet. The same goes for a few other headphones I have. This DAC is USB-powered; it should not have the capability of blowing out a pair of headphones.

 

[dtmhtk]

Hmmm interesting. On the HifiMeDiy page it says
 
Quote:

Highlights about Sabre ES9023 dac chip:
- The sound go straight out of the DAC chip and into your headphones or amplifier. It is not needed that the sound signal go through a capacitor to remove a DC voltage, there is no DC voltage to remove! This omits the need of a coloring cap which adds costs and reduces sound quality.

Now I'm just getting more and more confused.

 

[mrAdrian]

Quote:

Hmmm interesting. On the HifiMeDiy page it says
 
Now I'm just getting more and more confused.

 
That's still saying you need an amplifier. To my understanding, they mean there is no DC voltage coming out of the DAC. If there were, the signal would have to go through capacitors, which will color the signal (according to them (I agree with less is more)).

 

[penmarker]

Quote:

Thanks guys! Now I have some more questions.
1. Since active speakers have built in amp will I benefit if I get the Hifimediy Sabre with the set up of DAC -> speakers (Creative T20)-> IEM/headphone through the 3.5 mm jack on the speaker?
2. I know this is rather subjective, but how much of an improvement am I expected to see from the onboard audio from laptop since my gears (Beyer DTX 501p, HiFiMAN RE-400, Creative T20) are all entry level and I do not plan to upgrade anytime soon. Thanks!

There are some cases when onboard audio is better than an external soundcard. Just week or so ago someone commented that his FiiO E10 outputs a much inferior sound than his onboard audio jack. However this seem to be quite uncommon so don't worry, you have a good chance in hearing better sound quality.
 
The chain you are proposing looks good. Can you control the IEM or headphone volume from the speakers? It's been some time since I've used a set of speakers with an audio jack.

 

[wes008]

Quote:

I regularly run my GR07 straight out of the UD100 and have had no problems yet. The same goes for a few other headphones I have. This DAC is USB-powered; it should not have the capability of blowing out a pair of headphones.

Ok, I have to ask, HOW!?!?!? I tried, and it cranked my Grados waaaaaaay to loud. The music was at my preferred listening level without even putting them on :'( I'm on a Macbook Air btw.

 

[dtmhtk]

Quote:

There are some cases when onboard audio is better than an external soundcard. Just week or so ago someone commented that his FiiO E10 outputs a much inferior sound than his onboard audio jack. However this seem to be quite uncommon so don't worry, you have a good chance in hearing better sound quality.
 
The chain you are proposing looks good. Can you control the IEM or headphone volume from the speakers? It's been some time since I've used a set of speakers with an audio jack.

Thanks for replying. Yes, I can control the volume of the phones from the speakers, there's even treble and bass gain that works as well. Does that mean that they can emulate an amp? Maybe I should I should ask ClieOS who seems to have a lot of knowledge on this and owns the big brother of my newly acquired speakers.

 

[ClieOS]

Can you use UD100 (or HifimeDIY on that matter) without an amp? Yes. So why would you want an amp? Because Sabre chip is only meant to output voltage (same for any line-out), not current. It is not meant to drive a low impedance load (an amp input is usually >5kohm so it doesn't need much current). Using UD100 to drive a headphone directly means you are losing performance.

 

[TekeRugburn]

Finished fitting it in the little card reader.... took a while to make it fit.  Dremel tool to the rescue!  Goes perfect with my emergency hifi to go kit.
 

 

 

[lyonnais]

Hi, Mr Adrian.
 
Purchased my unit several months ago... Works good. But I encounter a big problem with my iPhone 4s ; when I plug the UD100 into it, the idevice says : "this device requires too much power". Do you have any idea about a portable solution to feed the dac with power ?
 
Thanks in advance...

 

[mrAdrian]

I thought you will have to use a iDevice transport or iDevice DAC for the IPhones, something like the CLAS or HP-P1 etc. The UD100 however should work on an iPad with the camera connection kit, or some android devices, and all windows/linux/iOS.
 
So maybe try using a camera connection kit, but I am doubtful it would work standalone with your iPhone even if you power it up sufficiently.

 

[uchihaitachi]

How does this compare against the 

AudioQuest DragonFly USB D/A converter?

 

[char0x]

Where can i purchase this dac? no sale option on the website.

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

Where can i purchase this dac? no sale option on the website.

 
First time someone asks!

You could:
1. read the whole thread, it's just 20 pages
2. Be lazy and go to the next point
3. mail stoneracoustics@gmail.com
 
That is if they're still making and selling the UD100