[medbeats]

Hey guys, thanks to your help I ended up buying ath-m50s.  However, I am noticing when listening to flac that there is a slight hiss when played from my lenovo laptop.  If I was to get a udac-2 would that take care of the hiss?  Would I notice major improvements in sound quality with my m50s?  Thanks in advance!

 

[kite7]

It would get rid of the hiss. You will hear a good improvement in overall clarity like a veil has been lifted compared to onboard sound.

 

[medbeats]

Just got my udac-2!  Loving it so far.  I was just wondering, is there an optimal setting the knob should be put at?  Should my computer be set to full volume and control the volume from the udac?

 

[slowpoke]

Quote:

Just got my udac-2!  Loving it so far.  I was just wondering, is there an optimal setting the knob should be put at?  Should my computer be set to full volume and control the volume from the udac?

I think, by setting the volume on both PC and whatever audio player on the pc to max, you are outputing full res.  However, depending on your copy of the udac2, you may not be able to turn the volume enough to avoid channel imbalance.  if that's the case, you may have to lower your player a bit so you can crank your dac volume above the imbalance.
 
I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong

 

[nwavguy]

Quote:

Just got my udac-2!  Loving it so far.  I was just wondering, is there an optimal setting the knob should be put at?  Should my computer be set to full volume and control the volume from the udac?

Check the end of my uDAC-2 (long) review. My advice is to lower the volume at least slightly on the PC side to keep the uDAC-2 from clipping internally and, as slowpoke said, lessen the channel balance problem.
 

 

[medbeats]

Wow, kind of wished I had come across that article earlier.  I have my audio on the computer set to 80% and it seems to allow me to keep the udac2 knob above the level where I can notice the imbalance.  Am I losing a lot of quality doing this?  Sorry I am fairly new to all this stuff.  Kind of getting a little paranoid trying to see if I can hear the imbalance or not.  At certain levels its definitely easy to hear the left ear getting more sound than the right.

 

[faileas]

Common wisdom tends to be to set the volume on the digital part of the setup to maximum and do volume control on the analogue side. Personally, i think the number one concern with equipment you already have is, does it sound right to you? I personally haven't noticed the imbalance, and haven't been able to find the 'sweet spot' where this happens - tried a variety of subjectively similar combinations of volume levels at my music player and UDAC2 , or the clipping - I use the analogue volume knob for control since its just easier, especially where i have a random selection of music chosen, and am not actually using my system for anything else.

 

[medbeats]

I do have 30 days to see if I like it so I think ill just keep listening and see if I run into any problems.  The only reason I ask is that since this is my first foray into a DAC I am left to wonder if this is the right first step or should be using another device (ie fiio e7...As you can tell most of my knowledge has come from just perusing this forum).
 
I do appreciate all the responses!

 

[nwavguy]

Quote:

Wow, kind of wished I had come across that article earlier.  I have my audio on the computer set to 80% and it seems to allow me to keep the udac2 knob above the level where I can notice the imbalance.  Am I losing a lot of quality doing this?  Sorry I am fairly new to all this stuff.  Kind of getting a little paranoid trying to see if I can hear the imbalance or not.  At certain levels its definitely easy to hear the left ear getting more sound than the right.

It's easy to hear the imbalance on mine as well. If it's a big enough problem, you be able to send it back for a refund. Setting your computer to 80% should be a good compromise. There's are a couple of "computer audio" links on the right hand side of my blog that talk about setting level controls, loss of quality, etc. if you want more information about that. It depends on your player, what operating system you have, etc.
 

 

[slowpoke]

I just want to clarify that my copy of the udac2 does not have imbalance on regular listening levels driving px100 as well as grado sr225.  It does have imbalance but that is to almost off position.  I do not listen at that level.  With my setup, both system and player volume is at max.
 
 

 

[medbeats]

also, when you try to crank the volume up is it normal to hear some static?  (the dial being beyond the 12 o'clock position)

 

[slowpoke]

I don't on any phones I own.  But search here, you will find people in both camps.  I assume you are talking about hiss when you don't have music playing?
 
 

 

[faileas]

I don't notice any on mine (though i had to turn my music player WAAAY down when i did it). is the static while you turn the knob, or in general? I'm using a ATH M50 + foobar2k with WSAPI (though i didn't notice it on DS either), and of course, a udac2.

 

[medbeats]

It's not when I am turning the knob.  It occurs on some songs where there is a lull in the music and you can notice a slight hiss at positions greater than 12.  At low volumes less than 11 there is no hiss at all >> even with dead silent spots in the song.

 

[faileas]

I keep mine at about 9 o'clock, and keep the computer and media player volumes on full...  if its only in certain songs, it might be be the recording. Load up the song in audacity and see ;p