DSD Dac for the masses! $900

wisnon · « **on:** 23 Dec 2012, 06:58 pm »

I saw this at Comp Audiophile:

"EAC UD-501: Dual Mono DAC with DSD Streaming
I actually posted this information in the Mytek DAC thread but I think it should go to a separate thread so as not to digress from the main Mytek subject too much.

Excited to report that the TEAC-UD501 DAC is available in Singapore (Absolute Sound Level 3) at a fabulously attractive price of S$899! PCM support of up to 32bit-384kHz and DSD support of 64fs & 128fs via ASIO or DoP. Couldn't resist and grab myself a unit for my headphone setup. The compromises made when compared to the Mytek is the lack of the pre-amp function and additional FIREWIRE/USB1.0/AES digital inputs. The TEAC is based off a dual-mono BurrBrown PCM1795 DAC configuration (dual toroidal transformers as well).

This unit will be ideal if you are planning to use it as a dedicated DAC and feed single/balanced analogue outputs into your current pre-amp/integrated-amp. The 100mW @ 32 ohms load rating, as opposed to the 500mW for the Mytek, for the headphone amplifier section (uses MUSES 8920 opamps) seems meagre at most so I won't be so thrilled to use it to drive Audez'e or Hifi-Man headphones but we will see when I try it out at home later.

Will update again on the sound performance against the Mytek when I have the opportunity to. Even though the unit is made in china, the finishing and built-quality is immaculate (even better than the Mytek) and it feels substantial for its 4kg weight. DSD DACs couldn't get more affordable than this now...

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Maybe I can post my initial impressions of the TEAC UD-501 DAC through the Audez'e LCD02 rev2 (don't have a pre-amp at the moment to hook up to the main system, maybe for experimental purposes, I would run the single-ended output to the Mytek itself!)

Honestly, I am pretty impressed... (having some kinks with the foobar interface though, the time elasped and track information is not moving along with the track playing - doesn't affect sound quality)

I think I will concentrate on the performance of DSD playback (which is one of the primary features you would go for this DAC anyway). The unit has been burning-in for the past 2 days at the showroom - saved me some time.

The first thing that surprised me was how capable the headphone amplifier is able to drive my Audez'es to pretty high SPLs at 3/4 of the volume dial. The only issue I encountered is with DSD tracks with a high dynamic range or are mastered below reference levels. i.e. Ry Cooder and Co.'s - Meeting By The River, where the gain of the headphone amplifier may not be sufficient to drive the Audez'es to high levels. If not, I think the headphone section is even better than the Mytek's - don't hold me to this claim, I might be influenced by the various FIR filters on offer.

The very interesting feature about this DAC is the 4 different Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter options that are available for DSD content. And surprising all 4 of them sound different and this difference is absolutely discernible. Currently fooling around with FIR filter 2 (extremely detailed) and FIR filter 3 (extremely dynamic and smooth) and 1 and 4 basically lowered the overall volume level - haven't experimented much with them yet. I am enjoying filter 3 the most at the moment, DSD just sound so good through the TEAC. I actually prefer listening to the headphone output of the TEAC than the Mytek... strange... a weaker amplifier section sounding better, which is why I suspect it could be the influence of the FIR filters as well.

The DAC worked as claimed with support for PCM up to 32/384 and DSD up to 128fs via ASIO and DoP1.1. I personally tested all the sampling rates. The only problem I found is that the SACD plugin is having issues upsampling 44.1kHz based material to DSD64 & DSD128. On the Mytek, the upsampling is transparent but for the TEAC, the upsampled DSD track breaks up randomly. Perhaps it is an early driver issue. And the other thing is that foobar is not reporting the playback information properly when playing DSD, although everything sounded fantastic. One last quirk is that it produces soft clicks when switching from PCM to DSD decoding mode.

I think I will save further experimentation on the MACOSX to tomorrow"

wisnon · « **Reply #1 on:** 23 Dec 2012, 07:01 pm »

At this price (assuming good quality) almost everyone will be able to make the plunge!

The unit has good connectivity too. I would have expected the DAC chip used to be the Wolfson 8742 chipset, given the 4 built in filters...just like in the Onkyo CSV5L.

ted_b · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Dec 2012, 02:20 am »

That price means $736 in US dollars.

The DAC is great looking, and the company, TEAC, is no slouch. I find their Esoteric brand a bit bright and analytical in most things digital, but incredibly well designed.

Napalm · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Dec 2012, 03:30 am »

And I see no reason to spend any more than that for an external DAC.

Any digital sound transmission that does not use a real "world clock" (or otherwise convey the clock information in a precise way) is fundamentally flawed, you can spend any amount of money to enhance it and you still won't get anywhere.

So why not settle on something just "decent" as it won't get any better than that no matter how much more money you throw at it.

wisnon · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Jan 2013, 03:59 pm »

So, Ted reported this:

I saw a static version of the DAC yesterday at CES. It's nice; part of a mini setup with a cd player, headphone amp and amp. The DAC, HP amp and amp are each selling for $799. The cd player is $899.