udac vs udac2
- Thread starter shrjun
- Start date
esanthosh
Well-Known Member
@cooltoad
Yep! too easy to guess. Not exactly a uDAC killer, but a cheaper, easier to carry option with not so bad sound. There are some who prefer this over uDAC too.
According to Shigzeo's post I read in Head-fi, highs are a bit rolled off and hence a good combo for the "hot treble" IEMs and headphones. It uses a WM8740 and the dimensions of the circuit board are 32 x 10mm.
I was initially considering it at a stage. But, I'd need a headphone amp to be carried separately, so skipped it. Rob is going to come out with a Stick Amp, which is the same DAC combined with an amp.
Link : Headphonia.com - USB DAC Cable with 3.5mm Mini Plug 75cm (30'')
@rallynut,
LOL! Reviewer's delight, owner's problem
Yep! too easy to guess. Not exactly a uDAC killer, but a cheaper, easier to carry option with not so bad sound. There are some who prefer this over uDAC too.
According to Shigzeo's post I read in Head-fi, highs are a bit rolled off and hence a good combo for the "hot treble" IEMs and headphones. It uses a WM8740 and the dimensions of the circuit board are 32 x 10mm.
I was initially considering it at a stage. But, I'd need a headphone amp to be carried separately, so skipped it. Rob is going to come out with a Stick Amp, which is the same DAC combined with an amp.
Link : Headphonia.com - USB DAC Cable with 3.5mm Mini Plug 75cm (30'')
@rallynut,
LOL! Reviewer's delight, owner's problem
Last edited:
Well, I am not good at writing reviews, especially when
it comes to audio. Anyways since you asked, here is my
2 paise on it.
Short answer the uDAC has certainly made my listening
sessions fatigue free and enjoyable. The very fact that
I am listening to my songs on my IEMs or the speakers
for a longer duration is a testimony that the sound
coming out the uDAC is good.
I have been comparing the uDAC with the DAC on my laptop,
recently bought creative xmod, Harmon Kardon AVR 330. The
source have been the same mp3 files on my computer. I listen
either through my Bose AM 10 speakers or Logitech z5500 speakers
or NE7m IEMs.
The DAC on the laptop should be basic ones. The sound is dull
and there is no detail. If I crank up the volume, it becomes
coarse and unrefined and hence after listening to a few songs
you will not be in a mood to listen further.
I wanted a change and went for the xmod because of its low
price. The xmod has 2 options. crystalizer and 3d and ofcourse
it acts as a DAC by itself as it replaces the inbuilt sound
card. One can turn on the crystalizer and/or the 3d options or
switch those off and use the xmod as just a DAC. The xmod
as just a DAC does not bring a huge improvement over the onboard
DAC on my laptop. There are people who seemed to have observed
huge difference in the DAC section itself but I did not see
a lot. The crystalizer tries to up the highs and decrease the
lows. It would look like the volume has increased and you might
feel like hearing more details. It brings more bass along with
it. That said, it would start sounding artificial soon. In good
recordings, you might feel the sound is better but in bad recordings,
it might sound very coarse and unrefined. The line out of the xmod
seemed to be more powerful than the headphone section. So, yes,
the xmod is a better option than the onboard DAC but depending
upon the collection, you might enjoy it or not. There is nothing
to hate it though. I actually liked the 3d option. It kind of made
the sound laidback and spread and surround but the details and
punch was lacking in the 3d option.
It is because of all that I went for the uDAC especially because
of the reduced price. The uDAC with the NE7 has really made a lot
of difference (though bass heavy). It sounds smooth and does not
fatigue at all. The xmod vs uDAC can be explained with the refinement
levels compared to say a Tata Nano vs say something like a Honda City.
I am not taking a Benz or more costlier cars in picture as I know
there would be much better DACs in the market. So, yes, the xmod
might sound coarse but the uDAC will sound smoother and carry the
details with more finesse.
I used to think the DAC on the HK AVR 330 is good and had always
connected my AV sources via optical/coaxial connections but after
using it for so many years, I now find that it had been lacking
the lower mids and the lows. Bass is weak. Highs are OK but lacks
sharpness. All this I was able to distinguish because of the uDAC.
I could hear the difference when I connected the uDAC between
the source and the receiver. Also the uDAC seemed to bring the
vocals more forward and clear.
I had to reduce the bass on my z5500 when I connected my uDAC. I
did not observe a change in the highs or mids but the bass seemed
to be more balanced and not so loose with the uDAC. The mids were
lacking and that could be attributed to the satellites themselves.
That said, the uDAC is an excellent option especially when you
are planning to pair with a headphone or IEM and like in my case
could be substituted for the DAC in a receiver also but I enjoyed
the uDAC + IEM combination more than the uDAC + receiver + speaker
combination.
Guys, pl advise, as i dont want it for the headphone section, will the dac part alone be a step-up from creative xfi usb or will it be wise to go for a better dac. Further, from the reviews, i'm worried about the forward sounding nature.
shrjun
Member
What exactly does forward sounding mean?
May be it means "in the face/bright" with enhanced treble or not laid back/recessed which is how i'd like my music to be. I'm in the process of learning, so i may be wrong in my understanding.
I will not be in a position to tell you if it would be wise to go for a better DAC or not since there seems to be so many DACs at different price points. I also really dont know if the uDAC is worth 4200 - should it cost more or less. That said I went for the uDAC because of the so many praises I saw for it on Head-fi - and must add that I am not disappointed - actually I am very happy just like everyone else on head-fi and some people like rallynut here.
In my impression above, you must see that I tried to compare the xmod with uDAC. I used the xmod and uDAC to bypass the DAC on my HK AVR 330 receiver. The xmod (same as creative x-fi USB (crystalizer, CMSS-3d)) was better than the DAC on my receiver. The xmod tries to increase the highs and decrease the lows. You might get a initial impression that the xmod has introduced the details but there is a whole lot of world between the highs and lows that the xmod does nothing about. Besides with the xmod, the bass on my Bose sounded like it was coming from a torn drum. If you just keep listening to the xmod you will like it but if you listen to the uDAC for a few days, it would be difficult to get back to xmod. Atleast thats what has happened to me.
Even yesterday I was listening to some songs on my Bose bypassing the HK DAC by using the uDAC and was really enjoying it. It just brings the vocals more clear (which was a problem with my bose), better mids and better bass (not loose - kind of punchy).
So yes, leaving the headphone section, the DAC part alone is better than the creative IMO. I dont know if there are better DACs at this price point - that comparison/knowledge I do not have.
I will leave the gurus to explain what forward sounding mean. If you think it will be too bright or sibilant or too treble oriented (like I thought before buying) - thats not the case. It brings the vocals forward - that I noticed - which I like.
BTW I do think it requires some burn-in. My inital few sessions with the xmod and uDAC sounded the same. I was like why did I buy the uDAC - when it sounds the same as xmod but after several hours, the xmod still sounds like what it had been all the while, while the uDAC has taken several steps further.
I am now listening to some old collection of mine which I thought I will never go back to and I am listening almost all day.
All that said, though I might not use the right terms to describe, I must say that I am a critic. It is not very easy to impress me and the uDAC has indeed impressed me.
Thanks sivakuru for clarifying that udac maybe better than xfi on the dac part, think i might try udac for now and go for a better dac after a while. A digital input for use with a media player would have made it a killer dac.
Exactly. Infact I was little skeptical on the DACs available in the market in general. I wanted to buy the beresford initially but I thought let me buy something for less first, try it out to see if it makes a difference and then go for a more costlier one. So now that I do believe that DACs do make a difference (to my ears), I will be going for the beresford soon.
Yes, if only it had the digital input it (for a little more extra cost), it would have taken it to much more heights. However I am not complaining as I am using it with my laptop to listen via either my IEM or via my HT setup.
shrjun
Member
shrjun
Member
What should the settings on the udac knob be when being used with active speakers(Audioengine A5)?Should it be at its max settings?Is it just a volume knob?I'm using the RCA out on the udac and 3.5 mm input on the A5.
AFAIK you can just use it as a volume knob. In my setup, I have the volume set to the max on my PC and control the volume from my speakers using
the knob on the uDAC. This is the recommended approach.
Keeping the volume knob on the uDAC to its fullest and controlling the volume on the PC is not recommended.
If you have an option to control the volume on your A5, you may keep the
volume to the max on your PC, max on your uDAC and control it using the
volume option on your A5.
shrjun
Member
When I did not have the udac,I played my apple lossless files using foobar + asio4all.Now that I've connected the udac,foobar gives me options to either use the udac or use asio4all.
1.Do I need to use asio4all now that I have the udac?
2.If yes,how do I configure foobar to do the same?
1.Do I need to use asio4all now that I have the udac?
2.If yes,how do I configure foobar to do the same?
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