[PTom]

Yes you're right, white paint reflects all colours so it remains true to the source.

 

[anthk]

It pains me to say that I ordered the odac before I have read this article.
But anyway...
So, what are the snakeoil effects that I should avoid?
Is usb powered dac worse or is it just irrelevant?

 

[wakibaki]

The ODAC is a well-specified DAC with a good technical performance for its price, a performance that virtually ensures transparency.

Relax. Enjoy your DAC, it's almost certainly indistinguishable from dozens of others, console yourself that you could have spent 10* as much and got one that sounds no different.

w

 

[anthk]

Indeed. I have one question though. Suppose that DAC only changes 0 and 1s to electricity (sound eventually), so what we actually need to know are measurements only right?
As long as the tested noise floor, distortion and "relevant variables"( sorry I am not knowledgeable in sound engineering) are practically good numbers, then we can safely say that certain piece of equipment, be it DAC, AMP or cables, are good enough for human ears, right ?

 

[cjl]

Yep.
 
By the way, just to clarify, did you order the ODAC alone, or the ODAC/O2 combo? The ODAC requires an amplifier to be used to ensure good performance, since it was not designed to drive a low-impedance load.

 

[anthk]

Combo
I thought odac doesnt come with a headphone jack?

 

[cjl]

The ODAC uses a standard headphone jack as the output, but it isn't intended to drive headphones - instead, it is meant to simply be an output to an amp (and it can also be ordered from some suppliers with other output options). With the combo, you should be fine though - that should be able to drive just about any headphones out there perfectly (to the limit of audible perception). I use an O2/ODAC combo myself to drive my headphones, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

 

[linglingjr]

  It pains me to say that I ordered the odac before I have read this article.
But anyway...
So, what are the snakeoil effects that I should avoid?
Is usb powered dac worse or is it just irrelevant?

Hey man I suggest you get out of the Sound Science forum (SS forum for short) and never look back.  Trust me.  Go, go now before it's too late and your body and brain is completely reduced to filth and you lose all ability to function RUN!
 
This is me after posting in this thread:

 

[kraken2109]

  Hey man I suggest you get out of the Sound Science forum (SS forum for short) and never look back.  Trust me.  Go, go now before it's too late and your body and brain is completely reduced to filth and you lose all ability to function RUN!
 
This is me after posting in this thread:

I think most of headfi would benefit from reading a bit of the sound science board actually. Certainly the people asking for recommendations. There's a lot of misinformation spread around this site.

 

[anthk]

I thought my sarcas-o-meter broke. 
I would take well performed double blind randomized trials over subjective thoughts at any day, if such info is available

 

[Dark_wizzie]

  Hey man I suggest you get out of the Sound Science forum (SS forum for short) and never look back.  Trust me.  Go, go now before it's too late and your body and brain is completely reduced to filth and you lose all ability to function RUN!
 
This is me after posting in this thread:

Or rather, that was your brain your entire time...
 
 
What surprised me the most was that they ran Realtek without an amp on HD800, is that right, and could not tell a difference? Or did they run an amp?

 

[mowglycdb]

  The ODAC uses a standard headphone jack as the output, but it isn't intended to drive headphones - instead, it is meant to simply be an output to an amp (and it can also be ordered from some suppliers with other output options). With the combo, you should be fine though - that should be able to drive just about any headphones out there perfectly (to the limit of audible perception). I use an O2/ODAC combo myself to drive my headphones, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

 
Minus the HE-6    83.5 dB/mW
 
O2 must ouput like 500mW into 50Ohm, that's about 107dB   loud, but not loud enough for some people xD. Also you have to evaluate  where THD+N gets over 1%  and the distortion starts to be audible.

 

[cjl]

   
Minus the HE-6    83.5 dB/mW
 
O2 must ouput like 500mW into 50Ohm, that's about 107dB   loud, but not loud enough for some people xD. Also you have to evaluate  where THD+N gets over 1%  and the distortion starts to be audible.

Yep - it's definitely borderline with the HE6. Interpolating a bit on the designer's data on the amp, it should be able to push somewhere in the mid 500mW range (when running on AC) at 0.01% THD+N into 50 ohms, and somewhere in the low 600mW range into 50 ohms at 1% THD+N. That does get you up to 110dB or so, but the ability to hit that will also depend on source level and gain structure within the amp, and it is also pushing a bit too close to full power at normal listening levels. If I owned an HE-6, I would probably not use the O2 - something able to source a bit more current would be a better choice. I have used my O2 with a different famously current-hungry pair of headphones (specifically, the LCD-XC) before though, and it has done great.They have a much higher sensitivity though (95dB/1mW), so they can hit 110dB with a voltage swing of about a volt, and the O2 can actually swing 3V or so into a 22 ohm load before the distortion starts to really ramp up (which results in ~120dB in the LCD-XC).

 

[SilverEars]

Hi, I have the HE-6 and O2 seems to provide it to listenable volume level and you can increase further.  I prefer my Beta 22 though.  I have yet to hear anything better than my ODAC -> Beta 22 -> HE-6  I may have to say it's better than the STAX 009.  

 
 

 
 
Yeah I said it.  

 
Like Steve Jobs says, it's phenomenal.  

 

 

[cjl]

Really? As I said before, I would have guessed it would seem borderline, but if you don't listen to your music really loudly (and don't have music with huge dynamic peaks over the average level), it should work pretty well. Out of curiosity, what do you prefer about the Beta22? I haven't seen a good set of measurements on it, so I don't know if it is audibly perfect or not. If you're running the O2 at high power levels though, you might be getting into the point where it makes audible distortion on large peaks in the music, which could definitely degrade the sound.