Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Let me preface this review by saying that I am no audiophile but just an audio enthusiast who really enjoys and gets into his music.
Now, the review:
SIZE / BUILD / DESIGN / AESTHETICS :
The udac-2 is small i.e. very portable (more than the pictures lead you to believe) and I love that. I travel a lot for business and its size is so very much appreciated.
Looking at the pictures I thought it would feel slightly cheap or plasticy but I was VERY VERY wrong; the all aluminum construction is first rate and the unit feels EXTREMELY solid. The volume control has a good feel / actuation and the soft blue led light (when on) is a classy touch.
The RCA and Coaxial(S/PDIF) outputs are all gold plated and again, like the rest of the construction, very solid. I'll cover the sound quality from the RCA outputs in the audio performance section of the review.
There are a few color choices. I decided to get black but after getting it, seeing and feeling it, I wish I had gotten red or silver; its that good looking.
AUDIO / PERFORMANCE / SOUND QUALITY :
Right out of the box the sound quality is outstanding. The DAC and amplifier are both very musical. I listen to all kinds of music and all genres and ever since I got the udac2, I have listened to every kind from Jazz to hip hop, rap, dance, rock, pop etc. I just cannot wipe the grin off my face.
I have the following headphones:
Ultimate ears super.fi 5 pro
Klipsch Image S4i
Sennheiser HD595.
I tried the udac2 will all three and although each and every one of them sounded great, the udac2 made my Sennheisers sing. I usually reserve the use of the Sennheisers with my old Nakamichi stereo receiver but no more. This thing just blows the Nak's headphone amp out of the water. The audio review that follows is the udac2 with the Sennheisers.
Group/ Artist: Down To The Bone
Album: From Manhattan To Staten
Track: 01 - Staten Island Groove
Format: flac
I think this is a very dynamic (albeit quite long) track filled with layers and layers of elements. While listening to the track and almost each and every element stayed distinct and I think I may have picked up another element that I didn't know existed. I tapped my fingers and feet the whole time I listened to it.
Group/ Artist: DEPECHE MODE
Album: Violator (Remastered 2006)
Track: 06 - Enjoy The Silence
Format: flac
I have heard this track countless times and is one of my favorites. The udac2 did it justice. The baseline, drums, the guitar riff throughout are crystal clear and in perfect harmony.
Group/ Artist: Blue Man Group
Album: The Complex
Track: 03 - Sing Along (Featuring Dave Mathews)
Format: MP3, 320Kbps
I got completely lost in this track the 2 or 3 times I listened to it over and over. I don't know what else to say.
Group/ Artist: Bass Mekanik
Album: Max Killa Hertz
Track: 02 - Aktivate-Terminate
Format: MP3, 320Kbps
The bass and percussions were solid. Never once did the bass get muddy.
Group/ Artist: Green Day
Album: American Idiot
Track: 04 - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
Format: flac
I felt Green Day were playing live for me.
I feel like listing every track I listened to and there was about 40 or 50 but this review would never end then.
The RCA outputs as I mentioned earlier are very solid. I connected the udac to the old nakamichi receiver in the bedroom. The signal was very strong and I wished this product was around a few years ago. I would have got this instead of a sound card to connect my HTPC to my home theater receiver; the sound quality would have been 10x better.
CONCLUSION / CLOSING THOUGHTS
It is everything that nuForce claims it is and more. Truth be told, I just cannot seem to stop listening to it and at $129 it is a steal. It has allowed me to enjoy my music when I am on the road as much as my main rig (some electronics connected to a McIntosh amp feeding paradigm studios) at a fraction of the cost.
Bravo nuForce!!UPDATE APRIL 22, 2011
This thing is still as awesome as ever. Now that its broken in, it sounds even sweeter than before. In fact it sounds so good that I ended up replacing the sound card on my HTPC with the uDac2 (using the RCA outputs to my receiver). Results in one word? Fantabulous! And man is it Quiet! I cannot believe how much noise the old sound card (sound blaster X-Fi Xtreme) was picking up from the motherboard. Now, with the uDac2, all I hear is very detailed music and nothing more.
Click Here to see more reviews about: NuForce Icon uDAC-2 (Silver) Headphone Amp and USB DAC (24bit/96kHz)
