TEAC UD-701 vs NT-505 vs ?
I stream Quboz and Tidal via a Bluesound Vault 2. Vault transmits to Parasound JC2 to modded A21 to Vandersteen Quatro CTs. (See my profile for complete description of system.) Happy, really very happy, with Vault 2 but it is likely best point at which to upgrade my system.
Considering TEAC NT-505 ($2K) and new TEAC DAC/streamer UD-701 ($4K), which has some very attractive features: in-house-built discrete Delta-Sigma DAC with FPGA circuity, dual-mono signal path, four separate power supplies... Have seen enthusiastic reviews for NT-505 from owners here. Only one review by Moon Audio out about UD-701, and they are not an uninterested party. Curious if any out there have heard UD-701?
Open to other suggestions, including used with roughly $6K price ceiling. See TMR has used Aurender A-10s for sale. Used PS Audio Direct Wave DAC with bridge is another consideration, although I have seen owners comment negatively about the bridge.
Not wed to DAC/streamer combo but that has appeal to me because it eliminates a box, connecter, and power cord, all of which add to cost and connector makes signal path less direct.
Also not wed to SS but a tube DAC appears to me to introduce an additional source of distortion into my otherwise SS system, so it will then be affected by both SS and tube distortion.
Thoughts?
Bosssound
@bosssound Your thoughts on the Bartok mirror mine. I have listened to it both with high end speaker and headphone setups, and both times I felt the Bartok sounded dull and a little muddled. With the speaker setup, it was hooked to a D'agostino preamp running into Luxman M900u into Wilson Sabrina. Headphone amp was a Woo Audio 33 and I forget the model of the headphones, but it was a high end one. |
I wanted to update this thread to say I sent the UD-701 back. In my system I like the NT-505 better. The 701 had a more "open" sound but just wasn't as enjoyable for long listening as the 505. It wasn't what I would call bright, but all these terms are subjective. Clear, bright, open, analytical, etc. could all mean the same thing depending on if someone had positive or negative feelings about it. |
To jbuhl: I would call this: an introduction of sorts. The seller, by definition, can not provide an objective review. Very seldom do so-called "independent reviewers." He wants to sell this product and discusses the BR-20 accordingly. |
