Nano IDSD or Jds ODAC (RCA)

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Patomata, Dec 7, 2015.

  1. Patomata

    Patomata New

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    Hello all!

    I have the e10k and I'm thinking change my DAC. I am between the ODAC (RCA) and the IFI nano IDSD.

    First i would to say that i will use the IDSD only like DAC, i have the iCAN like amp and i dont need other amp to move my headphone (400i).
    Could you compare (just as DAC please) the oDAC with the nano IDSD?
    There will be differences between the e10k and idsd/Odac?
    I am veeeeeeeery confused :(

    Thanks you very very much!:p
     
  2. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Why are you considering a new DAC?
     
  3. Patomata

    Patomata New

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    Hello Ultrabike.

    Because I think that its possible scale from the e10k to a better DAC without spending much money.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Keep the e10k. Anything within a few hundred bucks of it will at best be a sidegrade or minimal upgrade. The ODAC needs high-quality power / USB to sound its best (this usually means gaming PC and not laptop). The IFI nano DSD was pretty horrid, even as a DAC.
     
  5. Patomata

    Patomata New

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    I did not expect that answer, but I'm glad (everything is not wasting money is good :rolleyes:)

    Why do you think the IDSD is so awful?

    Regards.
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Soft, flat, boring, veiled. At least no knives into ears. But really, no better than laptop out from my VAIO.
     
  7. Smitty

    Smitty Too good for bad vodka - Friend

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    I'll second that impression, though I heard it under meet conditions.
     
  8. Patomata

    Patomata New

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    Honestly I can not believe that.

    With the e10k I can see differences compare to my laptop (HP) very clear.
    Although IDSD were a little worse (something I find hard to believe) would still be much better than a PC... i think :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  9. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Depends on which laptop. On HPs you need to disable the Beats stuff and things improve dramatically.

    IMO, going from very crapy laptop to e10k is an improvement (depends on how crapy said laptop is). The Merv's Sony laptop is likely not nearly as horrid as your HP laptop (I own one, I should know). Some laptops and PCs may even have some integrated sound cards that can kick some major ass.

    As you go up in performance, there maybe some decreases in performance/price ratios. In many cases, performance/price ratios are not even monotonic. Meaning, you can pay a lot more for something worse than what you have. IDSD maybe one such instances, but I'm not familiar with it.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yup. It depends on the laptop. The VAIO out was better than Dell or HP out.
     
  11. Patomata

    Patomata New

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    I'm reading the reviews that there are on this forum about nano IDSD... Apparently i was going to buy the worst DAC in this world xD
    So...what DAC do you think that i can see an improved comparing to E10K?

    With the ODAC do you think that i will not notice any improvement?


    pd: Sorry if sometimes i dont explain good, i dont speak english :(
     
  12. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Haven't done a direct ODAC vs E10K myself. But likely you are looking at a sidegrade, more than an upgrade, perhaps mainly dependent on board layout.

    I think they both use the same USB interface chip (TE7022L) , same TI DACs (PCM5102A).

    I think the E10K comes with a dedicated headphone amp (LMH6643), while the ODAC seems more of a dedicated DAC. Therefore, less convinient.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  13. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    IMO, from the technical stand point, I would look up to a Lynx Hylo. But that's currently outside my range.

    I think that is good 'nuff to make some awesome measurements, at a fraction of the price of many high end audio analyzers. But that fraction is still too high for my I'm-not-worthy socio-economic status.
     
  14. burnspbesq

    burnspbesq Friend

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    I respectfully but utterly disagree with Marv's assessment of the Nano iDSD. It's a perfectly fine piece of gear at the price. It unequivocally blows away Fulla, Dragonfly, and everything else at or below its price point. If I hadn't had a Herus (and now a GOv2+), I would still have mine.
     
  15. Patomata

    Patomata New

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    Many thanks again for answer, ultrabike.

    I didn't know that they have the same chip, LOL.

    I have like amp the iCAN, then i dont need the amp on the nano IDSD or E10K.
    This is the reason why in #1 i said that i am searching only a replace like a DAC.

    What dac do you think that i could see improvements? Maybe modi2?
     
  16. Nateman831

    Nateman831 Friend

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    I owned the e10k for awhile, and was able to compare it directly with the ODAC. IMO the ODAC is much better than anything else by Fiio and especially the e10k (which I honestly couldn't stand). I agree with @purrin that the ODAC's performance will vary quite a bit depending on how it's powered - but nothing I did made it sound as bad as the e10k and I tried it on 3-4 sources. I think it does very well with the Wyrd, but you don't have to spend that much - I found it sounded much better with a $15 D-Link powered USB hub (I used monoprice gold USB cables). Both approaches ensure it's getting a good power connnection. Just my experiences...
     
  17. Nateman831

    Nateman831 Friend

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    Of course the other piece of the equation is the amp you pair it with. My experiences have been to pair it almost exclusively with the O2, so I have no idea how well the ICAN will pair with it. I did try pairing it with the amps in the e10k, e17k, and e18, but the O2 was better than all of them. Hope this helps
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    My advice is not to f**k around with DragonPoo, ODAC, Nanoo-nanoo, E10K, Fulla, HRT Cleveland Steamer, Centrance DACport, etc. and remain in entry-fi hell. All you will be getting is different flavors of entry level sound (with the properly powered ODAC on top of that heap). If you want a real DAC, save up $400 for real DAC like an AD1922 based Emotiva DC-1 or an AKM4490 based Bifrost. And even then, the "better" won't be huge.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
  19. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I've owned the Nano, the fulla, and a bunch of others.

    I'd put the Nano at the bottom tier barely ahead of the bad sounding units like the Dragonfly 1.0 and HRT Microstreamer and on par with the terrible Sony PHA-1. I'd put it behind the decent units like the Centrance dacport (original) and the fulla. It's at least a couple tiers behind the ODAC provided you have decent USB power. The top tier units are pretty much leagues ahead of it.

    The problem with the Nano is it is incredibly flat. Kills staging, kills dynamics, kills any kind of excitement. Sounds bad. I gave mine away because I couldn't justify selling it to someone else.

    Edit: I disagree with Marv about the ODAC. I think it's decent but you HAVE to have decent USB power or it sounds like shit.
     
  20. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    AFAIK, there are two versions of the E10K, just as there are two versions of the ODAC. NwAvGuy checked the WM8740 DAC version which is not the latest. The E10k latest version is closer to specs of the ODAC latest version.

    I would personally be surpriced if the current E10k didn't hold it's own against the ODAC.

    Actually the 10K is hard to beat for the price IMO. Modi supports higher rates, looks nicer, and for one uses AKM chips. You would have to give them both a shot, but I wouldn't expect life changing differences.
     

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