Acoustic Portrait Thiyaga vs Teac UD-501

[Naturelover]

Hi!

Has anyone compared these two DACs?
I would like to have comparisons
A. When used with AP amplification and
B. When used with any other amplification.

Need to decide very soon.

Thanks

 

[bhagwan]

Hi!

Need to decide very soon.

Thanks

Sir,
Call for both;
Listen to them in your house & decide.
Tell both - you will buy either.
Pay for return freight.
I am sure it will work for both dealers...
All the best !
p.s. Why trust some one else - when you can do the test for yourself.
Alternately go to Bangalore & listen to both & decide.
If the 1st option does not work - i.e.

 

[Nikhil]

The TEAC UD-501 has the more advanced specs.
The UD-501 supports Direct Stream Digital (DSD) playback at either 2.8 MHz or 5.6MHz (DXD) rates.
PCM audio is supported up to 384kHz/32-bit resolution.
It connects to your computer over USB using ASIO 2.1 or DoP.

Source: UD-501 | TEAC

The Thiyaga DAC on the other hand tops out at 24/192 and (to my knowledge) does not support DSD native mode.
It is also highly unlikely for you to find a review of the AP DAC online.

 

[Naturelover]

Sir,
Call for both;
Listen to them in your house & decide.
Tell both - you will buy either.
Pay for return freight.
I am sure it will work for both dealers...
All the best !
p.s. Why trust some one else - when you can do the test for yourself.
Alternately go to Bangalore & listen to both & decide.
If the 1st option does not work - i.e.

Great idea, thanks! All said and done, I suppose that IS the best way to do it.
Actually, I am getting a good discount on the Teac (not in India) but without an audition. This will be applicable for just the next few days. Getting it for the equivalent of Rs 42,000. Will have to budget for customs as well, I guess even though it will be hand carried.

The TEAC UD-501 has the more advanced specs.
The UD-501 supports Direct Stream Digital (DSD) playback at either 2.8 MHz or 5.6MHz (DXD) rates.
PCM audio is supported up to 384kHz/32-bit resolution.
It connects to your computer over USB using ASIO 2.1 or DoP.

Source: UD-501 | TEAC

The Thiyaga DAC on the other hand tops out at 24/192 and (to my knowledge) does not support DSD native mode.
It is also highly unlikely for you to find a review of the AP DAC online.

Nikhil, have you heard the Teac? Possibly in your setup?
I do feel (this is without actual listening experience, I must admit) that anything above 24/192 may be quite unnecessary though I may very well be wrong here.
In any case, it would probably be superfluous in my listening budget and environment (a living room).

 

[manniraj]

Your best bet would be Santy for the Teac as he recently purchased the DAC from one of the FMs. You can check with him regarding the same.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

anything above 24/192 may be quite unnecessary

I feel that anything above 24/96 is quite unnecessary

But whether we think that or not, these higher bit-rate files (and DSD too) are, as the years go by, going to increasingly come our way. Already I am getting 24/192 music, not because I want it, but because that is how the music I wanted came.

The answer is that, whether we feel we need it, or we totally deride it --- still, it is going to be nice to be able to play it without having to do file conversion.

In that respect, the Teac is future-proof. Or as future-proof as anything ever is!

 

[Nikhil]

Nikhil, have you heard the Teac? Possibly in your setup?
I do feel (this is without actual listening experience, I must admit) that anything above 24/192 may be quite unnecessary though I may very well be wrong here.
In any case, it would probably be superfluous in my listening budget and environment (a living room).

Took a long hard look when it was up for sale here but went with the AP DAC to stay with the all AP setup.
I use JRiver to do all the heavy lifting, in this case DSD conversion to PCM if required.

Why do you say superfluous? My living room is my listening room too.

 

[docd]

Santy seems to be pretty happy with his UD 501. He feels that he need not upgrade for quite some time!

 

[arj]

+1 to what Bhagwan wrote. you will never get a proper perspective even from anyone who has heard the two together (how ever unlikely)

If you are buying blind you could do well with either they will both last you upgrades.
Knowing the AP philosophy and design focus, i would prefer the Thiaga . but if i were thinking of reselling at some time, the teac might be a more practical choice

 

[gobble]

I've heard the AP at a private listening session. It can make some recordings into ear bleeding experiences. One my all time favorite albums that has a somewhat bright recording was unbearable. On the other hand it has this ability to make everything sound exciting like a live performance. You are safe with the AP if you have speakers with a mellow voicing or dark sounding gear.

G0bble

 

[Naturelover]

Why do you say superfluous? My living room is my listening room too.

My living room has no wall on one side, not very good for hifi.

Santy seems to be pretty happy with his UD 501. He feels that he need not upgrade for quite some time!

Yes, I have been in touch with Santy. He is very happy with the Teac!

You are safe with the AP if you have speakers with a mellow voicing or dark sounding gear.

G0bble

Could you suggest some speakers for AP?
Some people have suggested Scansonic driver based speakers for AP. Are these mellow, dark?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

My living room has no wall on one side, not very good for hifi.

Walls are not good for hifi: get rid of the walls on the other sides too! :lol:

 

[Naturelover]

Good one Thad!hyeah:

 

[reignofchaos]

I have never heard the teac. However after experiencing the newest iteration of the acoustic portrait system today, I can say that it is really close to the absolute very best I have heard. Don't think teac stands even a remote chance compared to this dac.

 

[Naturelover]

Hi RoC, can you specify the exact AP set-up you heard?
What were the speakers and anything else you would like to mention.
What was the music?
Have you heard earlier versions of AP?
Thanks

 

[john_k_antony]

I have never heard the teac. However after experiencing the newest iteration of the acoustic portrait system today, I can say that it is really close to the absolute very best I have heard. Don't think teac stands even a remote chance compared to this dac.

What was rest of the chain ? Was it all AP gear including their scan-speak based reference speakers that looks like a "space ship"?

-John.

 

[reignofchaos]

Hi RoC, can you specify the exact AP set-up you heard?
What were the speakers and anything else you would like to mention.
What was the music?
Have you heard earlier versions of AP?
Thanks

All acoustic portrait setup - active speakers, external mono amps, ap preamp, DAC and transport. It was a fantastic experience. Music just sounds live - extremely taut and tuneful sound. This was something that was missing from his earlier setups when I had heard last around 3-4 years back. We heard rock, jazz, western classical, female vocals - the whole gamut of music and everything sounded exceptional.

Also I might add in his setup the cd transport sounded vastly superior to computer USB input. Another thing to keep note - folks used to very laid back setups might find the sound jarring initially. Happened to me for a while but I got used to it pretty soon.

 

[Naturelover]

These speakers are no longer made by AP. What are the options for speakers with AP?
Will Siva make them again?
Is this, at a guess, gvenu's setup?

 

[reignofchaos]

Not really sure about speaker - you should probably check with Siva.

What he has right now seems to be a scan speak revelator mtm with a sub bass module from what appeared to be an audio technology driver - not sure about the latter. Also no clue about the price - it will probably be quite steep.

 

[Santy]

Sir,
Call for both;
Listen to them in your house & decide.
Tell both - you will buy either.
Pay for return freight.
I am sure it will work for both dealers...
All the best !
p.s. Why trust some one else - when you can do the test for yourself.
Alternately go to Bangalore & listen to both & decide.
If the 1st option does not work - i.e.

+1
If possible, listen to both (with your gear) and then decide. Synergy matters too.
Do not go by what others (who haven't heard both extensively), guess or think or say (including me).