Which DAC/AMP

Nate75

Nate75

Nate75

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Joined
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Hi.

Can anyone suggest which is best to get out of these 2 similar models please?

TEAC UDH01 Silver DAC/Headphone Amplifier

or

TEAC AH01 Silver Stereo Digital Amplifier

Primarily this is going to be used for headphones however I would maybe like to connect a half decent set of desktop speakers somewhere down the line.

I'm guessing the UDH01 would be better for headphones but not really sure tbh?


edit: This is for use from a PC
 
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Seems they both have the Burr Brown DAC with the amp have a bit better connectivity.

But looks to me you could still connect 2.0 speakers to the UDH01...
 
The UDH01 has twin BurrBrown 1795 DAC's.
The AH01 has a single BurrBrown 5102 DAC.

The UDH has two as it is geared for headphones so should be more balanced. I am no techie but I expect they did significant testing to end up with what they did for both products.

I spent some time mulling over which one to get but as I mainly use headphones (pretty much exclusively), I went for the UDH01 and it is a great bit of kit. Sounds excellent and is exactly what I was looking for having come from a USB powered DAC. Managed to get them down to £100.00 as it was a display model.

If you want to use speakers in the future then the AH01 will be more suited to all as it can amp speakers, the UDH01 just has RCA outputs so so will need an amp.

tWB2g6a.jpg
 
Thanks for the info there.

I bought a nice new PC a week or so ago from OCUK so just trying to get a complete setup together.

I think I will grab the UDH01 as use headphones most of the time (and the unit looks sweet!).

I think to go with this I will simply get a pair of the Creative Gigaworks T20s for the occasion I don't use the headphones. They are powered and would plug straight into the onboard sound card I would assume. The motherboard is an ASUS Z170-E and I gather the sound quality is on par with the ASUS DG which I had in my old PC many moons ago.

I have limited space but that TEAC box and headphones would fit and look nice with the Gigaworks T20s for the desk corners for the occasion I would use them (most probably watching sports with friends or sticking a Disney or whatever on for my toddler).

Does this sound okay here or are there any silly mistakes being made?

I will be looking to grab the TEAC from RS tomorrow.

And thanks again for the advice here, it is genuinely appreciated.
 
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T20 have an AUX in so you would just need an RCA to 3.5mm cable.

Another option which you may have missed are these, which are on a massive discount - http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/teac/lswh01/teac-ls-wh01-b

You would then need the AH01 but would be a sweet little all round setup at a massive discount. it sits on top of the sub. I know they don't match in colour but what the hell. You could maybe get them to demo them for you? Take your headphones in as well.
 
PapaLazaru said:
The UDH01 has twin BurrBrown 1795 DAC's.
The AH01 has a single BurrBrown 5102 DAC.

The UDH has two as it is geared for headphones so should be more balanced. I am no techie but I expect they did significant testing to end up with what they did for both products.

I spent some time mulling over which one to get but as I mainly use headphones (pretty much exclusively), I went for the UDH01 and it is a great bit of kit. Sounds excellent and is exactly what I was looking for having come from a USB powered DAC. Managed to get them down to £100.00 as it was a display model.

If you want to use speakers in the future then the AH01 will be more suited to all as it can amp speakers, the UDH01 just has RCA outputs so so will need an amp.

tWB2g6a.jpg
Click to expand...

I grabbed the UDH01 which is a very nice looking piece of kit. I would share my thoughts as to the performance but there was no USB cable in the box lol...!

Anyways..

Next up are new headphones. Those in your picture look pretty awesome, AKG K550. Would these be "the best" ones to get at this price point now do you think? The best price online after a quick look is £125.

Cheers.
 
These are the MK2 version with improved drivers and if you go back to RS they are only £109. ;)

I like them. I had them up against some Beyerdynamic DT770's which are about the same price and I preferred these. Little less bass punch than the Beyers but they are plenty bassy with what I find good resolution all round. Much better mids as well.

Keep the noise out and keep the noise in as well and I find them good for gaming as well. Yeah I really like them and they work wonderfully with the UDH01.

At around £100 I don't think there is a lot better out there. Maybe look at the Grado SR80e for £79 or the Grado Grado SR125e for £120.00 but they are both open backed and leak a lot of noise.

Nice review on WhatHifi, won their 2015 award for best home on-ear headphones under £150. And their 2014 award as well.

They will probably have a set you can demo as well.

http://www.whathifi.com/akg/k550/review
 
I use HD518 at the moment. I wonder if the 550 would be that much better...

I guess a demo would be best but I'm also thinking of saving the pennies and going for the HD650 after reading the thread!

Cheers for the info.
 
So how important is SNR and THD?
I like the look of the AH01 because of the built in amp and extra inputs but it only has a single DAC.
Looking at dual v single debates the dual will give a better SNR & THD but would that be a problem for mainly rock & metal listening?
I also read that a certain expert reckons if you're USB monitoring there is very little difference.
Thoughts?
 
I was going to buy one of the Teac's above but I have a major problem.
Like most people who hear uncompressed music through a DAC for the first time I was gobsmacked last year when I bought a Creative E3 and played my Note 3 through it with Poweramp software. The first stuff I played were uncompressed Led Zeppelin remasters and it was as though I was listening to the albums for the first time and picking up things I'd never heard before.
Roll forward to today and I tried my E3 through my PC (it can be used as a Soundcard) but I can't get anywhere near the sound I get through my Note 3. I've tried various players but it sounds like the music is being compressed and volume seems to go up and down slightly. Swap over to my phone with the E3 and it's the best sound I've ever heard.

My problem is that if a buy one of the Teac's am I going to have the exact same problem?
Anybody got an idea what might be going on?
 
What software are you using to listen to the files on your PC?

The main reason those Zeppelin albums sound so good is the higher quality remastering, not the fact that they are high bit rate FLACs - I have them too.
 
rids57 said:
What software are you using to listen to the files on your PC?

The main reason those Zeppelin albums sound so good is the higher quality remastering, not the fact that they are high bit rate FLACs - I have them too.
Click to expand...

The normal 128s sound way better also so the DAC is making a huge difference but I can't replicate the sound on my PC playing through the DAC.
I've tried VLC, Windows Media, Impulse, Windows Media Classic and others and none of them can get close to Poweramp on my phone through the DAC.
Any suggestions welcome.
 
what is your full audio chain?

Mine would be:

MusicBee (PC in WASAPI mode) -(USB)> Schiit Modi (DAC) -> Schiit Vali (Amp) -> HD 650 headphones
 
rids57 said:
what is your full audio chain?

Mine would be:

MusicBee (PC in WASAPI mode) -(USB)> Schiit Modi (DAC) -> Schiit Vali (Amp) -> HD 650 headphones
Click to expand...

Various players > not sure about the mode > USB > Creative E3 > Ultimate Ears = awful

Note 3 > Poweramp > audio lead/special lead/Bluetooth > Creative E3 > Ultimate Ears = Awesome
 
Try MusicBee in WASAPI mode, it's what I use and it sounds completely transparent, so you'd be starting off with a known quantity.

If it still sounds bad change your USB port

If it still sounds bad then change your USB cable.

If it still sounds bad then it's more than likely the E3, specially if you are using different inputs to when you are using the Note 3.

*With your Note 3, if you are using an ordinary 3.5mm audio lead then you are bypassing the E3's DAC, so essentially the Note 3 is the DAC. If this is the case then it may just be a setting in the E3 controls causing it.
 
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