[drhoooon]

I got uDAC-2 today and started A/Bing with my onboard PC using Grado sr60.
 
The bass was definitely better, alot clearer, but other than that..I didn't hear much difference.
 
Did I expect too much??
 
btw my music is half flac, half 320kbps.
 

 

[debitsohn]

if the bass was definitely better and a lot clearer as you put it... isnt that better? keep listening.. youll start to notice more clarity all around at the very least.  i havent used the udac2 in months so cant remember but i thought it was okay for 100$.

 

[drhoooon]

I was searching the forums and....Wow..I tried the WASAPI for foobar and I can hear the SQ is so much cleaner across the board. Before I was just running through winamp, I didn't know WASAPI made that much difference...
 
*edit
Forgot to A/B with WASAPI on...difference is less now..back to square 1, maybe my ears just sux

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Glad to know it worked out for you. Tell me, how do you organize and use Foobar? 

 

[drhoooon]

hm? I only tried it just now haven't had time to mess with it
 
Is there an optimal setting or some sort?
 
Quote:

Glad to know it worked out for you. Tell me, how do you organize and use Foobar? 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

I just had a little trouble with it and have been using Winamp, as I don't have a DAC setup right now. When I get my DAC in order, I will be using Foobar with WASAPI. I don't really listen to music on the computer, I prefer my players.

 

[kurtcocaine]

I just got a new Udac-2 HP and when i plugged it in, i was like OMG, there was clear difference b/w my onboard and the udac, but then after left it playing for 3-4 hours when i came back, i can't make out the diff b/w the 2!! is this some sort of bad burn in? I also plugged in speakers into it which leaked static into it i think coz i started getting a hiss which went away after i switched it off, is this related to its audio quality degradation?

 

[wasteoftime]

I hav a udac2-hp with sr60is and the difference from onboard is alot clearer using foobar  + WASAPI. if u havent tried it out u should go dl asap lol.

 

[DivergeUnify]

Yeah I really think I can reliably tell a big difference; I just appreciate not being limited by onboard volume.  If there are sonic benefits, then I'll find out passively through enhanced enjoyment

 

[Yoga Flame]

Maybe the original sound card wasn't bad to begin with.
 
Try to keep the computer/foobar digital volume at 100%. And only lower volume with the uDAC's knob. Also check that EQ and any other filters are turned off. For the sake of making accurate comparisons, it's better to have bit perfect output. (But after that feel free to turn EQ back on if you like, of course.)

 

[tme110]

I think it would be unusual for someone not to hear a very noticeable difference with and w/o a DAC and you've already stated that you hear a difference.  Part of the problem may be that you also must need to sit back and enjoy the music.  I have made changes where I couldn't tell a difference at all (the largest SQ change for me was a DAC) but later when I wasn't thinking about anything I thought to myself -oh I hadn't noticed that before or wow, that sounds good - I then realized that I did hear a change.  But the whole A/B thing and the analyzing, for me anyway, makes it hard to notice differences.
 
But yes, you also need to make sure you don't have any weak link in the chain anywhere.  Make sure you use USB 2.0 certified cables, make sure all the volumns are up (even in windows), make sure the DAC configuration page is set to the MAX bit rate (I had to change mine, I'm not entirely sure it effects the DAC but I got to the selection after right clicking on the driver for my external DAC), use good software etc, turn off all sound processing, etc,
 
The device may even sound better after you've been listening to it for a while.  I have never listen to any uDAC but I think the e7 (my cheapest DAC) sounds great and I'm guessing uDAC is similar(??).
 
I had some other thoughts too but...