[Ern Dog]

An audiophile friend of mine recently let me borrow his Nuforce DAC-9 and I am enjoying it so much that I wanted to post my impressions of it.

My system currently consists of:  Modwright tube Oppo 83, Placette active preamp, Pass Labs XA30.5 amp, Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Signature system speakers, a JL Audio F110 sub and a Running Springs Haley power conditioner.

The Nuforce DAC-9 is pretty small and sleek looking and comes with a remote. It has 6 different inputs. I tried it connected to my Modwright Oppo 83 using an old $30 Monster toslink cable. I also tried it with a Morrow digital cable, but couldn't tell a difference with the two different cables so left it with the toslink. It also has a volume control, either fixed or variable, so I tried it with and without my preamp in the loop. It sounded better with the Placette preamp in the loop.

The first most immediate thing I notice is that the music plays louder at the same volume as before. I find this a nice benefit because some of my cd's are recorded low (Reference Recordings label) and I have to max out my preamp to hear it right.

Next the sound stage grew several feet and the music easily fills the room. This DAC has way more detail/resolution than what I'm used to hearing, but it never sounds harsh, sibilant or bright. It's like a wool blanket was removed from my speakers and I can hear into the music more deeply and more clearly. In fact it sounds smooth and open. There is also extension on the highs and low end.

What strikes me about this DAC is that it has such a fast response- attacks are lightening fast! I was listening to Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances and there was one part where there is a loud cymbal crash and when this came on I literally jumped because it scared me and I've heard this track a million times before. This quality makes for excellent pacing and drive. It is a very lively DAC. I love it in my system.

Female vocals sound sublime. The most realistic I've ever heard from my rig. Coltrane sounded fresh and real and alive. Everything I've thrown at it sounded just amazing. In comparison my source alone sounds veiled and sluggish, but I never would have described it that way before this DAC came into the picture.

My SACD disks get no love from this DAC.  Other than that it is a keeper for sure. I wish I could offer some comparisons with some other external DACs but this is the only external DAC I've had in my system.  The other down side is that I have to give it back in the next week or two or pay $1600 for a new one. Once my ears hear the possibility of something way better, it is so hard to go backwards. I definitely see one in my future.

When I get one, I would certainly be interested in trying different digital inputs and different power cords to squeeze out any more performance.  For this review I used a PS Audio Plus power cord.

[rbbert]

I don't want this review to fade away because my experience is pretty similar to yours.  My system is also similar in some ways to yours (Modwright Oppo source, Pass Labs amp, large speakers).  I do think the increase in detail I note with the NuForce DAC is at least partly due to a slight boost in the high-midrange and treble, but it is no way harsh, as you state.

[roscoeiii]

I would like to hear more about the comparison to a Modwright Oppo.

With the recently announced 105 having inputs for other digital sources, the Oppos and potential Modewright mods just got a whole lot more interesting...

[rbbert]

Ern Dog pretty much covered it.  The NuForce DAC-9 is clearly a cut above the DAC section of the Oppo, even modded.

[Ern Dog]

Rob-  I just looked at the picture of your system and those VPMS speakers are Monsters!  I'm very curious how they sound.  Interesting that you heard a boost in the highs in the DAC.  I thought the DAC sounded fairly linear and maybe a slight boost in the mids if anything, but I'm not sure.  I chalked up the increase in volume to the lower noise floor.  Have you experimented with cables/power cords for the DAC-9?  What are you using?

Rosco-  As far as the difference between the MW Oppo 83 vs Oppo 83 plus the DAC-9, I would give the nod to the DAC-9 combo and here's why:  the DAC offers a big increase in resolution, sound stage and frequency extension.  I'll be the first to admit that in the past I've said that the my MW Oppo 83 would be my last source I'd ever need and I've been very satisfied with it's performance in every way.  The last tweak I made to it was upgrade the tubes to a Create rectifier tube and Sophia Electric's for the 6sn7's.  I basically had no plans or desires to upgrade, however this DAC-9 just fell into lap and blew my mind with what it adds.  Simply put, it is roughly 30-40% more musical than what I was hearing before.  Is that 30-40% worth $1600?  That is a question people need to answer for themselves.

[rbbert]

I'm using an Audioquest power cord (don't remember which model, an older one) and have tried both Cardas Neutral Reference and
Wireworld Eclipse 5 balanced interconnects, either of which worked fine.  When I mention a boost in the upper mids and treble range,
I think I'm talking about a fraction of a dB; mostly as you say it's detail that's better, I just get the impression of a little more emphasis
in the higher ranges (too small for me to measure with any equipment I have).

The DAC-9 is probably available at a slight discount from some dealers; check around.

[nuforce-casey]

I don't want this review to fade away because my experience is pretty similar to yours.  My system is also similar in some ways to yours (Modwright Oppo source, Pass Labs amp, large speakers).  I do think the increase in detail I note with the NuForce DAC is at least partly due to a slight boost in the high-midrange and treble, but it is no way harsh, as you state.

The frequency response on DAC9 is ruler flat within 0.25dB from 20-20kHz, so there is no boost at all, can only say the improvement is at the expense of other product's less-than-linear FR.

[rbbert]

Thanks for the info, now I know that the apparent slight frequency boost is actually a misperception due to the increased detail!

[Ern Dog]

Casey,
Yes, thanks for the clarification. 

What would you recommend as the best input for the DAC, the toslink or spdif?  I couldn't hear a difference between either one.  Also which input cables/power cables do you recommend for this unit?

Thanks!

[rbbert]

With my Oppo 95 I prefer the Toslink connection to coax.  From my M2TechHiFace2 I am going BNC > BNC.

[nuforce-casey]

You guys' experiences correlated with mine:

With BDP-9x and most video-based (DVD, BD) transport, optical input seems to be better (using Nuforce optical which are Mitsubishi Glass fiber, the best), I believe it's because of these video-based SPDIF outputs are not transformer coupled, so noise and ground complexity were affecting the pure audio performance.  Optical cable cuts off common ground and thus no noise.

Other than the above exception, usually BNC > RCA >> Toslink.   Glass Toslink >>> Plastic Toslink.   Toslink >>> 3.5mm optical.

(>>> : Better than)

[Ern Dog]

Is there any way to get the DAC-9 to play the audio part of DVD's using my Oppo as the source?  Tried coax and toslink and both don't do the job- I get silence.

[srb]

Is there any way to get the DAC-9 to play the audio part of DVD's using my Oppo as the source?  Tried coax and toslink and both don't do the job- I get silence.

The DAC-9 (and most standalone 2 channel DACs) cannot decode Dolby Digital or DTS, so you have to make sure the Oppo is set to output downmixed 2 channel stereo from the coaxial or optical output jacks.

From the Setup Menu:
 
Audio Format Setup > Coaxial/Optical Output > LPCM
 
Steve

[Ern Dog]

Great!  Thanks Steve