Rich post. Particularly appreciate the comparisons to other DACS. Tickled to hear how much you are enjoying new unit.
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
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vinylcat Thank you for your response.I've done some research and I think the N-05XD and UD-701N share absolutely the same DAC module according to the PCB layout and the internals. Here is picture from TEAC
and from ESOTERIC
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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. |
- 119 posts total