Review: Nuforce uDAC5 – HEM6 without the earphone and with a knob

Sound

As mentioned above, uDAC5 is powerful. It more than supplies the needs of both my OrtoPhones and 600Ω DT880. At the same time, its attenuator is sensitive and accurate enough to maintain left/right balance pretty early on. Even through my most sensitive earphones I can nail channel balance at comfortable listening volumes, and with headroom to spare. The problem is that uDAC5 hisses a lot. It hisses quite a bit more than my Lynx HILO, more than the Linear Tube Audio MZ2-S, and certainly more than the LinnenberG Maestro, all of which are mains-hugging desktop DACs or headphone amps. As such, it certainly hisses more than most battery-powered amps and sources, and orders of magnitude more than the Grace m9xx. Sure SE846? Ultrasone IQ? Forget them.

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Attenuator left/right balance at a zero position veers hard left. By a turn of fifteen degrees it balances out, at which point it is just about right for sensitive earphones and low-volume listens. Of course, hiss noise buggers up both. If you listen to medium-loud volumes, and use medium-sensitive earphones such as the Earsonics S-EM9, hiss is minuscule.

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Under the stress of hard impedance swings seen in earphones such as the the Earsonics SM2, high frequencies fall by up to 1,4 decibels from about 10kHz onward. I would argue that for most people this drop is audible. No matter the load, and THD and IMD aberration aside, signal quality cleaves pretty damn close to unloaded. IMD and THD ramp up to valve amp levels under the load of certain earphones. While I’m not confident to say that they are audible, each ramps up by at at least 40x over base, potentially lowering contrast and softening edge resolution.

Given favourable circumstances, the uDAC5 serves up a sound smoothly graded between broad-spectrum stereo detail and incredibly smooth transitions. At the top, a slow and load agnostic high end roll off softens the sharpest of peaks. High-mid to high range transitions are smooth, but absolute extension is good. Bass twangs solidly no matter the load, and rises into the midrange as smooth as is possible. The same is true for mids to highs highs. Some upper midrange elements stick out more against the high-range than does bass against the lower midrange, possibly bringing the high range into clearer, stereo-delineating focus. It is my opinion that the uDAC5 is anchored in the bass and its stage defined by the contrast between midrange and high range elements. Its stage is middling wide, creating a graduated bass-anchored sphere around the head.

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It’s a sound destined to perturb no one, and bent slightly toward comfy-eared listeners. It struts the details, and its bass slams, but each under a gentle veil of a slow high-end roll off. I find it a great match with Grado headphones and even the DT880, both of which really show what the uDAC5 is capable of.

If I were to sum up the uDAC5’s signature in an earphone, it would be the nuforce HEM6. It errs on the reference side, but is warmer and comfier than neutral, but only just. In fact, the HEM6 is quite a bit warmer sounding than the uDAC5. Of course, tuning a source or headphone amp to match the signature of a headphone is nearly impossible.

The uDAC5 can belt out volumes approaching an AK380, but its maximum artefact-free volume settles in just north of an iPhone 6.

End words

The uDAC5 is a well-built, compact, and full-featured DAC. It outputs a good amount of power through its headphone jack, and operates a solid pre-amp. Under load, it is pretty solid, comparing favourably with better iPhones and certain desktop-level headphone amps. But hiss is large enough an issue to make it a questionable source for sensitive earphones. If Nuforce could fix that, it would be an easy recommendation for headphone users of all types. Nevertheless, it is an upgrade for a lot of laptop and all-in-one computer users. It adds digital output, pre-amp functionality for wired speakers, and of course, a good headphone amp.

3.4/5 - (18 votes)
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Back before he became the main photographer for bunches of audio magazines and stuff, Nathan was fiddling with pretty cool audio gear all day long at TouchMyApps. He loves Depeche Mode, trance, colonial hip-hop, and raisins. Sometimes, he gets to listening. Sometimes, he gets to shooting. Usually he's got a smile on his face. Always, he's got a whisky in his prehensile grip.

2 Comments

  • Reply December 1, 2016

    obsidyen

    Can this little thing drive Beyerdynamic Amiron, and drive it well?

  • Reply December 2, 2016

    Loganaden Veerapen

    How does it compare to Fiio E10K soundwise?

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