TEAC UD-701 vs NT-505 vs ?

Hi Milpai,

agree re: vibration etc. didn’t want to make subjective claims and distract from the thread.

Thanks for that review. Although limited to its performance paired with the class D power amp, a fair conclusion. At least they used some high end Borreson speakers. A direct and detailed A/B comparison with the NT 505 might have helped bosssound. My first experience of delta sigma and have not heard R2R etc, but can safely say that the 701 is all the streamer/ DAC that I will ever need, as are my amp  and speakers. More expensive PS audio, Esoteric and dCS delta/ sigma DACs must be very good indeed. 

I can only chime in, one year listening to the NT-505, streaming Qobuz. Have not heard the newer models. What is clear, is that the 505 needs break-in time. It does not outperform my vinyl rig, but now sounds very good. This is into a tube system - Einstein The tube mk2 preamp, and Atma-sphere Ma-1 amps. It seems a supportive environment for the 505. The best digital recordings - also standard cd format - now sound clearly better than I'v heard before.  

Can report back now. Sort of.

First, want to thank all for a thoughtful, informative, and helpful thread.

There were a couple points that where the thread could have turned to mudslinging and I want to thank both parties for turning away from that and staying civil.

Qualification regarding report is the left channel of the UD-701-N was dead, so I could only do one channel listening with it.

I have not heard of any similar or other manufacturing problems with this model or other TEAC products so I don't take this as a ding against the 701. (See my comments later about its excellent build.)

I also have no beef with Safe & Sound from whom I bought this unit. No suspicion that they sold me dud. In fact, they have been excellent about handling the issue and have promised full refund and paid for shipping back. I am happy to do business with them again.

First will report on listening tests at home. My system is described in my profile. Set-up for tests is described below.

Could not perform direct comparison of 701 to other units (new TEAC NT-505, old Vault 2) because my Audioquest Victoria RCA IC runs as a unitary cable with split into right and light connectors only near its two ends. Therefore, could not connect 701 to RCA IC because the L and R analog outputs on its back are far apart (as a consequence of its dual mono design). Hence, while 505 and Vault were connected to my Parasound JC2 pre-amp via RCA; 701 was connected via AQ Yukon XLR IC, which IMHO are inferior to Victoria and AQ Earth. I also did some listening with NT-505 connected directly to my Parasound A21 amp via Earth XLR IC. I used stock power cables with both the TEAC units. Connection to Internet in all cases was via Wireworld Starlight 8 cable to Ethernet port.