ODAC was Oh!k..initial impression

[kaushik]

One FM brought ODAC, did a / b with ODAC..

lappy->odac->ta2020 diy-->carnival6 fs
lappy->24bit dac(33usd from along)->ta2020 diy-->carnival6 fs

we demoed initial 7 hours ,ODAC was little more revealing
i can say 10% better than my 'unnamed dac'

 

[haisaikat]

try using it with foobar / wasap and sox resampler

 

[Audiodoc]

Your weakest point is your amplifier. As you know that the audio chain is as good as the weakest link. If you you have a good headphone try the same with the ODAC they you will hear the high and low end extension.

If you have a 1 lac DAC pre power rig and use car speakers for reproduction most DAC will sound the same.

 

[iaudio]

For that matter, the speakers are no 'stronger' than the amp! As you said, the difference might be more if the rest of the set up downstream is able enough.

 

[gobble]

Dont forget your ears! They have to be better than the amp and speakers ... or at least match them for you to be able to discern properly

--G0bble

 

[dips0502]

One FM brought ODAC, did a / b with ODAC..

What is a/b ? Could somebody please explain

Your weakest point is your amplifier.

Are you saying the Topping TA 2020 isnt a good enough amplifier to fully explore the ODAC ?

 

[Audiodoc]

A / B means comparing the two with the flick of a switch. This is difficult in case of DAC. The only way you can do it is two use two sources. Computers or laptops in this case playing the same file in the same players with the same drivers (eg a 24 bit flac track, playing in foobar with wasapi plugin enabled). After the digital signals are converted to analog signal they can be fed into a DIY switch with two inputs and one output. When simultaneously and synchronously playing the track the outputs from either track can be compared seamlessly. One can ask a friend to flick the switch for a blind comparison. All this trouble is taken since the humans have a very short memory span for remembering the nuances of sound.

The 2020 based amps are quiet decent however their low frequency and high frequency response is not at par to good class A or AB amplifiers. Although in most cases the speaker is the weakest link however it is mostly the costliest one too. That is why I had suggested a headphone rig. My 50k headphone rig consisting of EHHA headphone amp with Senn HD650 easily sounds better than most 100k speaker rigs.

Whenever we have to compare the limitations by a/b ing the rest of the variables should be ideally top of the line so the DAC is the weakest link.

 

[kaushik]

Audiodoc,
you may be right...
foobar wasapi are room mates for long time.

but my audio ears say investing odac is good..but it i expected more.
from pcm2704 to my dac card upgrade when i did ,i could see very much natural touch to SQ.

but as i did cdp playback on carnival 6 speakers they do well (cant claim to be even mid level,for 12k odd),can be used for finding expected in limited range.
may be following will add more light:
rahul(gobble) are u there?
*A good pre+power + full rangers combo test,at rahuls

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

but my audio ears say investing odac is good..but it i expected more.

It's true that expectations are high --- which is perhaps not the fairest way to approach a product. But what to do? We keep reading good things about it: it's hard to expect any less.

 

[Audiodoc]

One more thing to add here. For my speaker rig.

I have the ODAC (besides 4 more DACs that I also own, 2 of them DIY)>Pass B1>MyRef Rev E (Modded Norge 1000 too)> Wharfedale 10.1 with SW150 Subwoofer.

Without the pass B1 I don't love the chain as much so a good preamplifier with a good volume control is essential.

Even changing from MyRef to Norge I have some loss of midrange detail even though Norge 1000 is better than a 2020 based amplifier (midrange smoothness, sheer power and authority wise).

One should remember that it is mostly the speaker and source material (the music file quality) that produce the most profound changes in presentation. The DAC PRE POWER though essential tend to change the sound 10-30 percent in most cases.

 

[doors666]

One more thing to add here. For my speaker rig.

I have the ODAC (besides 4 more DACs that I also own, 2 of them DIY)>Pass B1>MyRef Rev E (Modded Norge 1000 too)> Wharfedale 10.1 with SW150 Subwoofer.

Without the pass B1 I don't love the chain as much so a good preamplifier with a good volume control is essential.

Even changing from MyRef to Norge I have some loss of midrange detail even though Norge 1000 is better than a 2020 based amplifier (midrange smoothness, sheer power and authority wise).

One should remember that it is mostly the speaker and source material (the music file quality) that produce the most profound changes in presentation. The DAC PRE POWER though essential tend to change the sound 10-30 percent in most cases.

Speakers are the most important in the chain and yours are probably worse than his.

 

[kaushik]

source material:
Cant be better ,EAC ripped FLAC of Diana krall live/ Allen taylor color to the moon ...etc all pretty standard.
Inter connects :dh-LABS SILVER SONIC MKII DIY

Amp is TA2020 is Arjen Helder MK3 Diy.
MyRef RevC i heard was good but the tripath amp we used performs as good as 20k Dennon/ or NAD Amp,we did test at Profx

TRIPATH used in many high end setups:

From diya:Jean Michel on LeCleac'h horns - Page 87 - diyAudio

Thad,
yes true...expectation grow when we see a phd like paper .
doors,
i found Warfs were very bad in low ends..
..but may be his HP setup may tell full story.

 

[doors666]

source material:
Cant be better ,EAC ripped FLAC of Diana krall live/ Allen taylor color to the moon ...etc all pretty standard.
Inter connects :dh-LABS SILVER SONIC MKII DIY

Amp is TA2020 is Arjen Helder MK3 Diy.
MyRef RevC i heard was good but the tripath amp we used performs as good as 20k Dennon/ or NAD Amp,we did test at Profx

TRIPATH used in many high end setups:

From diya:Jean Michel on LeCleac'h horns - Page 87 - diyAudio

Thad,
yes true...expectation grow when we see a phd like paper .
doors,
i found Warfs were very bad in low ends..
..but may be his HP setup may tell full story.

i found wharfies to be bad in pretty much most of the areas. yes, headphones will tell the true story. I am waiting for my orthos to arrive from US, a friend is bringing these.

even i am using topping, looking for a better and more powerful amp for my desktop. my whole system is currently a mess, once things are a bit settled, will know better.

with better setup, you probably will find refinements over other DACs, dont expect a day and night difference. I compared odac to essence briefly, is it better, yes. but if you are playing a random song and ask me which of the two DACs is playing, i still wont know.

 

[gobble]

Audiodoc,
you may be right...
foobar wasapi are room mates for long time.

but my audio ears say investing odac is good..but it i expected more.
from pcm2704 to my dac card upgrade when i did ,i could see very much natural touch to SQ.

but as i did cdp playback on carnival 6 speakers they do well (cant claim to be even mid level,for 12k odd),can be used for finding expected in limited range.
may be following will add more light:
rahul(gobble) are u there?
*A good pre+power + full rangers combo test,at rahuls

Sure drop by ... I think I should be able to spare about 90 mins this Sunday

--G0bble

 

[kaushik]

Sure drop by ... I think I should be able to spare about 90 mins this Sunday

--G0bble

Let me get the ODAc guy ,i will confirm it.