The All Purpose Advice Thread

Thx. What we prefer and what we get being sometimes different, I contacted him with interest in the HE-6 alone. Also for shits and giggles, I have a loaner set of HE-560's coming for audition and Hifiman US Customer Support has since informed me that an out-of-warranty exchange would be $200 plus shipping "IF WE HAVE A REPLACEMENT SET" which won't be known until everybody sobers up following Chinese New Year celebrations and they get the rooster back in its cage.

In line with Marv's suggestion, I may do both - fix the ones I have and purchase a spare set. I love these things.

thx all - Lee

 

Nuforce Udac5, is it garbage?

I bought this a couple months ago because I was looking for an inexpensive USB DAC with pre/outs and volume control to use with my monitors and there weren't really many alternatives available. It was on sale for $150, looked decently made, had decent parts, some positive reviews and at the time I thought it was a reputable company so I figured what the hell ill give it a shot.

I haven't hooked it up to my monitors yet but I tried it with my ER4s and RE400s, and I have to say I thought it sounded pretty terrible, maybe worse than using the headphone out on my MBP. I then did the research I should have done in the first place and found that some of Nuforce's older Udac's measured pretty awful. Is the Udac5 in the same category?

I know I'm not going to find any Nuforce fans here, but has anyone here tried out the Udac5? Is it total crap? Like I said I'm simply looking for an inexpensive USB DAC with volume control for powered monitors, certainly doesn't have to be audiophile grade, but would I be better off with some other cheap USB DAC? This is the first Nuforce product I've owned, I always thought they were kind of low to mid-fi but decently designed products, but thats not the feeling I'm getting from the Udac5.

At the moment Im thinking I would have been better off with the Udac3 for $70, if its going to suck it might as well be cheap... Can anyone recommend a better alternative?

 

If you've already bought it and it sounds good to you, then it sounds good.

 

Thats the problem, If you read my post you would find that it doesn't sound good to me at all. In fact its the only audio product I can remember buying where I cant really come up with any positive attributes sound wise. But, I've only tried the headphone output and I bought it for the pre outs. The HP out sounds so bad its making me rethink the whole thing.

I was expecting decent SQ in a relatively well designed and built package, but after listening to the HP out and reading about the Udac2 Im not sure it hits any of those targets. Its been so underwhelming that Im wondering If I got a bad unit? Or maby Im in the allergic to SABRE camp? Or maybe it really is that bad... thats why Im looking for other opinions.

At the end of the day I don't really know of any better alternatives but Im hoping I'm overlooking something. Like I said even staying within the Udac line, I cant imagine the Udac3 could be much worse and at least its half the price.

For reference I have a Schiit stack at home (Lyr +Modi MB) and I picked up an AK Jr around the same time as the Udac5. The AK Jr absolutely blows away the Udac5 IMO. I understand that the AK Jr is more $ than the Udac5 but for that money your also getting a battery, 64G memory, a touchscreen, UI...

 

I just noticed the Fulla 2, its like Schiit made it just for me lol. Looks like I found my alternative.

I wish Schiit would have mentioned this a couple months ago when I asked them if I could use the Fulla 1 with monitors (the answer was no) haha, but I guess they like to keep there new product releases hush hush.

 

I need some advice. I want to get king crimson's album "in the court of the crimson king" but reading about it, it looks like the original masters were messed up, and I'm not sure what master has best quality/where to get it. Thoughts?

 

Steven Wilson did a remixed version recently (available here). I haven't heard it but I have the Yes and Gentle Giant remixes he did and they are fantastic. Apparently the set I linked includes a good master of the unremixed version as well. Have a look here:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/king-crimson-which-version-of-court.270514/

 

great, thanks.

 

I think what @Grahad / @Grahad2 is saying is to try it with your monitors and see how it sounds. Maybe the preamp outs don't sound like ass and it will serve your intended purpose.

 

I need to get my sister some replacement buds or iems to replace her dying apple buds. I would make ~$30 as my budget limit. She says that she wants something that is more neutral, and not a bass/midbass cannon. I would put a smooth treble response as another consideration. I don't have much experience with buds and iems (fit issues) so would you mind giving me some suggestions?

 

Sorry I thought I read it sounded okay to you. Might have been the CNY alcohol speaking instead.

I never really heard a NuForce unit long enough to form an opinion on them, but wouldn't your monitors come with volume control on them?

 

I would really suggest looking at the Shozy Zero, but they are ~$60. Zero Audio Tenore and HiFiman RE-00 also worth looking at.

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/shozy-zero-iem-measurements.2568/

 

With nothing connected to the inputs of the J2, do you get hiss?

Also, not related to hiss, but have you measured DC offset on the J2? I would be leary of using big speaker amps if you're not driving a more robust design like an ortho. Measure the DC offset with no transducers connected. Measure it cold from power on and again 15min later.

 

If nothing is connected and the amp is just on, there's no hiss, dead quiet. I changed the XLR cables, same result. I don't have a multimeter handy to measure the offset. The J2 isn't a "big speaker amp" per say, "only" 25 wpc into 8 Ohms.

Trying to loan another DAC to see if the DAC noise floor is the issue.

 

I'm guessing the HP out on the Cambridge doesn't have a gain of 20dB. You might just be hearing the combined DAC + 20dB gain noise floor. Trying another DAC would be good, although the specs on the Cambridge look good.

 

You're probably right. Shouldn't that noise floor increase if I increase the volume on the Cambridge though (without music playing)? That's what I find puzzling, the hiss stays constant.

If that is indeed the case I'll just have to stick to the headphone out. What a shame, the J2 sounds phenomenal.

 

Doesn't Zero Audio have a lot of QC issues? Might be worth getting it from a reputable vendor with reasonable return policies.

 

I've experienced a constant noise floor that wouldn't change with volume twist, at least until the last few degrees on the volume knob.

Per Murray's oscillation possibility, I would shoot First Watt an email to verify that the amplifier is stable into high impedances.

 

I've actually owned many NuForce products over the years and never had any issues with them. I had the uDAC 1/2/3 as well, and still use the 3 for my pc. I can't speak for the 5 as Nuforce is now under different ownership and I have not heard any of their hardware (except for iems) since the changeover.

You've already spied the Fulla2 as an alternative. The FiiO e10k might be another cheap one. There's probably some nice cheap LHLabs GOv-whatever floating around out there too.

 

Can anyone give a quick reco on a smallish carrying case for something like a TH-X00? I don't really need pelican level security, just something to keep it contained and jab-proof when it travels to/from work occasionally.