TEAC UD-701 vs NT-505 vs ?

celestial_sound

TEAC UD-701N and NT-505X are made in China.

Esoteric N-05XD made in Japan.

I demo'ed the NT-0505X last week...very high value piece.

My dealer has the UD-701N coming in this week that I can home demo, as well.

(Currently using Schiit Yggdrasil A2 w/iFi Zen Stream).

DPC

celestial,

i did my own comparison, too (UD-701N & N-05XD), and from what I can tell, spec-wise, is that the Esoteric has more headphone power.  Call me cynical, but on the surface at least, it looks like one might be paying ~$6K for a nicer housing and faceplate.  I gather there’s more to it than that…there must be, right?

That said, I like the design of the TEAC.  The NT-505x is a solid little guy itself, and the UD-701N comes in at 26 lb…a good hunk of DAC.

Can’t wait to hear it at home, as I’m contemplating a new streamer, new DAC, or a new DAC/Streamer like the 701.

Had a nice comp session with my Yggdrasil (SPDIF) and dealer demo UD-701N (USB), both running thru an iFI Zen Stream (w/iPower 12V).  The Yggydrasil is a very nice DAC…the TEAC is really more impressive…more so than I thought it might be.  The clarity, soundscape, engagement, substantial build quality (at least on the surface) is very attractive.  I don’t have much interest in the headphone side, and none in the preamp side, so can’t comment on those features.

Will try the Network connection this weekend…if it’s like the 505X network, should sound even better than thru the Zen Stream.

Would like to get my ears on the Weiss 501/502 at home someday (only heard at shows), but this TEAC 701N may be the ticket for my digital needs.

Concur on the lack of TEAC advertising and reviews...

I was not familiar with nor would have considered TEAC without a recommendation from my local dealer to just give the NT505X a listen, as he and some audio club members did a listening session with it against a well known, much more $ brand  (and its new upgrades) and were impressed, perhaps surprised, that they all preferred the TEAC.  I wasn't really even in the DAC market.  I did a little research (and found this thread...as there are very few on the 505X or the 701N), and thought why not give it a shot.  The 505X was indeed impressive, but glad I am also trying out the 701N.

Honestly, the digital side is secondary to me, but I'm all for major improvements at reasonable cost.  There are many other brands/models to possibly try out that have many reviews and associated advertising, but the TEAC value (relative to either model being discussed) would be hard to beat, I imagine.

I completed a long weekend home demo with the UD-701N last week...

so impressed with what I heard (as was my wife) that I went ahead and asked my dealer to order one for me on Tuesday and picked it up yesterday (very fast turnaround).

It's now residing in my system rather comfortably.  Very nice piece of equipment and I feel a great value (as is the NT-505X).

BTW, I'm not real thrilled with the Lumin/TEAC/Esoteric app, but it's usable.  Mconnect is still my go to for control, but that may change if/when I ever do more streaming (other than my local NAS).

Although nothing beats a home demo, this thread here was very useful (and just a few others I found in the interwebs).  Lots of other usual suspects in this price range for Streamer/DACS, but this TEAC fully suits my needs.

@rblnr 

Glad you thought so highly of the TEAC.

I may try the TEAC Clock down the line, myself...my dealer will let me try that at home, as well.

"The UD 701N reflects what a larger company with the engineering prowess and buying power can do for the money if they put their mind to it."

On that note, so to speak, I found a similar result with my current main audio speakers (Paradigm Persona 3F)...a rather large, resource-filled company focusing on some "higher end" products which they wouldn't normally be noted for.

@bosssound 

My only direct comparison was at home vs. my Schiit Yggrdrasil A2 with the iFi Zen Stream.  I initially used the Zen Stream for both DACs (SPDIF for the Yggdrasil; USB for the TEAC UD-701N) to keep fewer variables.  The TEAC was an immediate improvement (to me) wrt to clarity, dynamics, soundstage depth, width...all leading to a more engaging and immersive sound.  The closest element was probably the dynamics, as the Yggdrasil has a great analog output, as well.

(In fact, my experience the week before with the NT-505X was also an improvement over the Yggdrasil in the same context, just not to the level of the UD-701N.)

There was no element the Yggdrasil provided that I preferred over the UD-701N.  And the Yggdrasil is a very nice DAC...

Everything from vocals (Loreena McKennitt, Joni Mitchell, Chris Isaak, Johnny Cash), guitar (Acoustic Alchemy), pop (Paul Simon), rock (Phish, The Cure), and "world" (Dead Can Dance) was preferable on the TEAC.  (I listen to Jazz music strictly thought vinyl, so no input there...)

I then listened to the TEAC via its network connection, and a few comparisons with the iFi Zen (USB) streaming showed furrther improvement, but I didn't do too much comparison because (a) had to switch inputs on unit (no remote on hand), and (b) the TEAC network connection sounded so good I didn't want to switch.  (one of its four independent power supplies is dedicated for the network, I believe)

That said, the Yggdrasil is less expensive than the TEAC, but the TEAC's delta in performance vs. cost is much greater than I would have thought.  I likely would have still purchased the TEAC even if it had no built in streaming (or preamp and headphone amp, which I won't likely even use).

You've provided some insight on the UD-701N vs. the HiFi Rose 150, and there are other brands with similar cost and features (Lumin, Simaudio, Auralic, Bryston, etc.), and I've heard some of them at shows and dealers, but certainly not enough to assess any to the level of a home demo.

Hope that is somewhat useful.

@celestial__sound 

There's your answer.

I was just going to add there is a toggle on the HR Streamer app for Tidal & Qobuz (I don't use them as I only stream via local NAS).

This unit has been impressing me more and more over the past couple weeks.

@celestial__sound 

Nice to hear you went with the UD-701N.  (my dealer has mentioned it's been very popular with his clients, as well.)

I started out with MB to gauge its sound relative to my Yggdrasil (MB as well).  I have since changed to 1-bit DSD (512).  Both are quite an improvement in all areas.  Some of my favorite demo/test digital music (e.g. Ry Cooder - Talkin' Timbuktu...) is really impressive via 1-bit; seemed to add even more depth and clarity to this incredible recording.  l'll experiment a bit more with format and other settings (easy enough), but as of right now I'm inclined to stick with 1-bit.

@ptatztxt 

No suggestions here, but wondering if you use a local NAS and if that has issues playing as well with the HR Steeam or other controllers?

(I ask as I have only used my 701 via NAS and haven't yet run into any issues.)

I certianly hope you can resolve your connection issues...

Decided to home demo the TEAC CG-10M Master Clock Generator with my UD-701N this week.  No cost risk - figured I’d give this a shot even though the 701 is stellar on its own.

The improvement is very clear and discernable with everything I’m checking out (presence, spaciousness, transient response, and bass articulation).  I was anticipating it would not change much and I was way off.  It’s a keeper for me…very nice upgrade for a relatively modest cost.

I didn’t try the CG-10M with the NT-505X when home demo’ing, but my dealer (Esoteric Audio, Richmond, VA - great service) keeps them stacked in the demo room and attests to its improvement in that config, as well.

Using a 50-ohm 1-ft cable, but will need ~0.5m for my setup (do not want to stack).  Also will try different power cords down the line.

Anyway, if one has the opportunity to demo this master clock generator with their TEACs (or other units), it’s could be a worthwhile endeavor (certainly was for me).

Also, finally getting around to tyring out Qobuz with the UD-701N, which is nice, and getting more in tune with  the Lumin/Esoteric/TEAC HR app, which is actually not too bad.

@milpai 

Tks for the link...interesting review.

I will say that as far as "limited soundstage depth", the UD-701N was certainly better than the Yggdrasil in my system, but I'm not certain what he was specifically comparing it to in his context.