udac vs udac2

[esanthosh]

for Testing i am Using a Laptop And Connected The fiio To It and Listened To Flac Music On Different Earphones

I think you meant uDAC?

Have you tried the same setup of laptop + earphones with FiiO E7? How did it sound?

I agree with you on one statement - It's better to trust your ears than specs.

 

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

I think you meant uDAC?

Have you tried the same setup of laptop + earphones with FiiO E7? How did it sound?

I agree with you on one statement - It's better to trust your ears than specs.

True ,
Why believe me ,Check yourself you will find the same might be

 

[esanthosh]

For E7 vs uDAC comparison, I found a comment in clieOS' blog :

In Ear Matters: [REVIEW] NuForce uDAC - Big in Small

(The last comment on the page at this point)

uDAC has better treble and detail, but E7 (with its own DAC) has better mid and bass (especially on texture). Overall, I'll say uDAC wins, but only by a small bit. If E7 was to be fed by uDAC's RCA-out, the difference between the two for me is too close to call. Obviously the DAC in uDAC is better than that in E7, but there is no point of getting both. I'll say portability will decide which is more practical for user.

Other than this, I (so far) have not been able to find a direct comparison.

uDAC uses Sabre ESS-9022 and E7 uses Wolfson WM8740 as DAC chips. I'm not knowledgeable enough to speak about the ICs. May be someone can shed light on them?

 

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

For E7 vs uDAC comparison, I found a comment in clieOS' blog :

In Ear Matters: [REVIEW] NuForce uDAC - Big in Small

(The last comment on the page at this point)



Other than this, I (so far) have not been able to find a direct comparison.

uDAC uses Sabre ESS-9022 and E7 uses Wolfson WM8740 as DAC chips. I'm not knowledgeable enough to speak about the ICs. May be someone can shed light on them?

Well ,
No offence To ClieOS ,But We All Have different hearing then each other i bet i am right here ,So his review is based on his assumptions and mine are based on mine

 

[iaudio]

Amarbir, can you explain your impressions in detail? Did you find it lacking in detail, resolution, soundstage, bass, mids etc? What did the fiio e7 do better than the udac? I know this is all subjective but would like to know from you since you have exposure to so many headphones and iems.

 

[esanthosh]

Well ,
No offence To ClieOS ,But We All Have different hearing then each other i bet i am right here ,So his review is based on his assumptions and mine are based on mine

Amarbir,

I agree - I dislike several IEMs / Headphones everybody seems to love and vice versa. Our ears are the final judge.

However, what we have been trying to get out of you is - In what way? You need not write in depth review like clieOS. Just write your views about what you found in E7 that you miss in uDAC? Bass? Is uDAC too forward? Is uDAC missing things you liked in E7? Or on the other hand, what features E7 has you liked, but not found in uDAC?

 

[gurubhai]

IIRC, the wolfson chip is many times costlier than the ESS chip in uDAC. The specs of the Wolfson chip are much better.
However, in the end what will matter though is not the chip but the implementation.

 

[esanthosh]

FWIW, I tried both uDAC and TubeMagic via USB out in my setup yesterday.

uDAC pushed the vocals in front by a feet, lacked bass (relatively). But, it's resolution was much better.

D1's USB out is nothing to write about. It's imaging and resolution are poorer compared to uDAC. This despite me trying Audio-GD OPA-Sun Dual as opamp. It's supposed to be one of the best opamp choices for D1. I prefer D1's Coax (STX SPDIF out) though.

I actually preferred STX. It had better body and resolution compared to both.

But, as usual, it's my setup, my ears. So, YMMV

 

[shrjun]

My laptop has got a PCMCIA slot currently housing my Reliance netconnect card.Are there soundcards which might fit in the slot providing a better alternative to the udac?Just thinking of all available options!Do the newer laptops come with the above mentioned slot (in case I have to upgrade later on)?

 

[esanthosh]

Are PCMCIA cards widely available? All I could find was a few Creative ones. May be others can chime in.

Within your budget, uDAC is a (much) better alternative to onboard sound. To my ears, they don't sound bad at all. IMHO, as long as you don't expect them to beat the crap out of a Benchmark DAC1, you should be (more than) reasonably satisfied with them. Besides, that match box size thing can be carried with your laptop easily serving as a headphone amp while traveling

But if you stretch your budget (Isn't this why we have forums ), you could find many better alternatives.

 

[cooltoad]

Santhosh, do you think udac will be an improvement over my creative xfi usb?

 

[sivakuru]

Santhosh, do you think udac will be an improvement over my creative xfi usb?

If I may answer this question. I *think* it will. I recently bought a creative xmod (similar to x-fi card you have in terms of crystalizer and cmss-3d feature) and not very sure if it delivers what I want and was researching for an upgrade and was reading through the 120 odd pages on head-fi on the uDAC. I came across the following comment:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Nuforce uDAC USB DAC AMP with line out and S/PDIF out - Page 43 - Head-Fi.org Community

That comment seems to convey that uDAC is much much better than the creative. I have seen similar comments on the net when I tried to see which one was better. That said YMMV.

Anyways after all the research, I ordered a uDAC yesterday. I hope it is up to my satisfaction.

 

[cooltoad]

Thanks Sivakuru, what is the price and purchased from where? There is big difference between onboard realtek and creative x-fi. Should be interesting to know the diff between creative and udac and may consider if it is a real step up.
I would also like to know Rallynuts views on the diff between keces and udac on the dac part and if udac could be a cheaper alternative to keces.

 

[sivakuru]

Thanks Sivakuru, what is the price and purchased from where? There is big difference between onboard realtek and creative x-fi. Should be interesting to know the diff between creative and udac and may consider if it is a real step up.
I would also like to know Rallynuts views on the diff between keces and udac on the dac part and if udac could be a cheaper alternative to keces.

From BuyGamingStuff for 4200.

I am sure you will hear from Rallynut as well.

Here is someone who has compared the keyes with a udac.
A Tale of Two DACs @ MyFaceTwit

 

[iaudio]

I too will be getting one pretty soon! Hope vijay has shipped it!

 

[shrjun]

How much would the onboard soundcard of my laptop have cost(just for the knowledge!)?

 

[sivakuru]

I too will be getting one pretty soon! Hope vijay has shipped it!

I too ordered one on Friday. Still no news from anyone including vijay from buygamingstuff.

EDIT:

Just called vijay and he said my uDAC would be shipped today.

 

[iaudio]

Mine seems to be delayed/due to flight being cancelled or so says the tracking page.

 

[esanthosh]

@sivakuru, iaudio,

Any updates on uDAC impressions?

BTW, for those who like the small price and form factor of uDAC, there's another choice as well. Smaller than uDAC, cheaper and also said to sound similar or better. Interesting product - though it lacks a few things compared to uDAC.

Easier to identify, hope someone can find it within the next 15 mins

 

[cooltoad]

Santhosh, what is that udac killer? Headstage dac?