Odac

[Spychedelic Whale]

http://nwavguy.blogs...c-released.html

• Audio Formats: 16/44, 16/48, 16/96, 24/44, 24/48, 24/96
  
• Interface: USB Audio Class 1
  
• Native Driver OS Support: Windows XP & Later, OS X x86, Linux
  
• Operating Systems Tested: XP, Vista, Win7 (32 & 64), OS X Snow Leopard, Ubuntu 9.1 32 bit
  
• Line Output: Approximately 2 Vrms into 5K ohms or higher
  
• Dynamic Range: > 110 dB A-Weighted
  
• Distortion: < 0.005%
  
• Dimensions: 49 x 58mm (see drawing to right)
  

I’ve run a second blind listening test and can report the O2+ODAC held its own against the $1600 Benchmark DAC1. They both are audibly transparent.

Claims aside with this specs for 100$/£ sounds like a nice deal.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Spychedelic Whale

[Beefy]

I'm so excited, I almost crapped my pants!

[jcx]

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/index.html ??

[johnwmclean]

Great. Competition for TP’s monopoly.

[deepak]

love the tag

[K3cT]

DESIGN BY EAR: Detailed and credible published measurements are missing with most “boutique” DACs being sold including those from Schiit Audio, Audio-GD, AMB, Twisted Pear, Burson, and NuForce. Where’s the credible evidence they got it right? A lot of these companies try to claim specs don’t matter, and they instead design by ear, but that method is seriously flawed (see: What We Hear). It would be like designing a car engine without a dynamometer and having no idea how much horsepower and torque it produced, how fuel efficient it was, etc. Given all the proven problems with sighted listening, and how our ears and brains work, those who claim to design by ear are very likely getting it wrong. Put another way, they’re often designing products with far lower fidelity than they’re otherwise capable of.

Fucking seriously? That delicious hypocrisy. Also love that list of "evil" corporations and designers, very tactful.

[n_maher]

Since when does Ti or Twisted Pear design by ear? WTF is this lunatic talking about...

[Nebby]

They don't have a dScope and don't have published measurements of their products, so they must be designing by ear! Seriously, listing Amb and Twisted pear between Audio-GD and Burson?

[guzziguy]

this lunatic

I think that you've answered your own question.

[Torpedo]

The problem is the lunatic is earning a lot of following in the short pocket market and the "if it measures alike it sounds the same" crew.

[guzziguy]

What problem? As long as there are sheep, there will always be someone with shears. P.T. Barnum understated the number of sheep.

Edited April 19, 2012 by guzziguy

[Torpedo]

Yep, not really a problem, just stating a sad fact :/

[RudeWolf]

Well, if it really somehow manages to turn out to be a decent DAC at that price, then why not... Sure, I'd buy it. What bugs me is the terrible logorea behind this thing. Heck, maybe I'll find a used Pico instead, they keep turning up in HF lately.

[Nebby]

Over 4,000 words to release a DAC, not counting the "preview" articles he wrote.

I'm a bit curious as to what Nwavguy would say about the Pico, but then again I wouldn't wish that on Justin.

Oh, I think a good review for him to do would be any RSA amp. Wouldn't that be interesting?

[bhjazz]

That bastard gives the Northwest a bad name. I'm glad we kicked his prick ass out of here.

[Aimless1]

No doubt. He was annoying.

[Pars]

The problem is the lunatic is earning a lot of following in the short pocket market and the "if it measures alike it sounds the same" crew.

^ this

That bastard gives the Northwest a bad name. I'm glad we kicked his prick ass out of here.

^ and this. How many words did he take for the O2 amp? One each shit ton from what I have seen. I would really like it if he started picking on established commercial makers (like RSA) rather than Ti, etc. Just because they haven't plunked down on a dScope or equivalent doesn't really mean shit. He can rant all he wants to about RMAA, but used properly, it isn't worthless.

[dcpoor]

you should see the lengthy reply/response to the not too favorable headphonia review of his amp.

http://nwavguy.blogs...at-we-hear.html

Edited April 19, 2012 by dcpoor

[Beefy]

Copy and paste into word tells me it has 10,970 words

Mind you, he does consistently cut-and-paste-post the same platitudes over and over and over. Whether this is better or worse, I don't know......

Edited April 19, 2012 by Beefy

[The Monkey]

Deception – To the casual visitor, Head-Fi just seems to be an open forum where average people can talk about headphone stuff. But it’s really owned by a commercial entity that’s using it as a marketing machine. And it’s not “open”—see Censorship above. It’s a private forum run for profit. From what I understand the moderators and admins receive a steady stream of free gear while Jude receives all that plus serious income. It’s no longer just a hobby to these guys.

Guys, share that cool free gear!

[Nebby]

For an objective scientist that insists on measurements and actual proof, he sure puts a lot of faith on raw speculation. While we're on that topic, why the heck did he go for moderators and admins? I'm fairly certain some of the more popular head-fi "reviewers" get more free gear than them.

Leftover grudge from getting banned, I'm guessing?

[TMoney]

Aspergers going once. Aspergers going twice...

[Beefy]

Aspergers going once. Aspergers going twice...

Dunno, I reckon that there is a little bit of histrionics in there as well.

[Pars]

THat guy is full of it:

SOME IMPORTANT HISTORY: High-end audio was nearly non-existent in the 1970s short of a few companies like McIntosh and even those marketed their gear around objective criteria. If anyone tried to sell a $2000 power cord in 1980 they would have been laughed out of business but now there are dozens of companies selling them.

Really? 1970s (early) How about Marantz, KLH, Infinity, SAE, etc.? Many more later in the decade. He probably has a point in the 2nd sentence...

MAGIC: Some compare the supposedly better sound heard from high-end gear to “magic”. Lieven quotes Nelson Pass claiming “It is nevertheless possible to have a product that measures well but doesn’t sound so good. It is still a mystery as to how this could be.” In effect Pass appears to be saying amplifier sound is mystical. But it’s not. Lots of credible published research demonstrates measurements predict sound quality. If Pass is so confident measurements don’t tell the whole story, where’s his published blind listening test demonstrating his view? Such a result would certainly help sell more of his five figure products so he has a strong incentive to publish such a test. Still, magic is an interesting analogy. Magicians know how to exploit weaknesses in our senses to deceive us. Convincing someone a $2000 power cord really sounds better is a similar act of sensory deception.

Claiming Nelson Pass relies on mysticism? Heh, good one.

[HeadphoneAddict]

I read the NwAvGuy blog response before I read the review afterwards, and I came away pretty irritated with NwAvGuy who seems to think his amp can drive anything and pair well with everything. Without having heard the O2 amp I'm hoping that I would side with Mike on this one after I do hear it. I don't mind being biased in this case.