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Polycentric
3
Feb 12, 2017
Here's a short bit of what I think it most important from a review I wrote. Hopefully this helps last minute buyers, future buyers, or just those who are curious. Full review here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/nuforce-dac-80-digital-to-analog-converter-with-one-usb-and-three-s-pdif-inputs-black/reviews/18011
I'll start with the physical aspects. If you need pictures there's another review on head-fi with beautiful pictures of this DAC's insides. The nuforce website has good images of the outside. The build quality is okay. I wouldn't give it full stars as if you tap on the DAC is makes sort of a weird cheap box ringing noise, but I'm not sure if this is true for all of the DAC-80s. Also this is sort of a non-issue as I don't tap my DAC all day. The texture of the finish on the DAC-80 is very nice. Just looking at the DAC, it's a fine piece. Nice minimalist look which some people enjoy and others don't.
The remote is just a remote. I think that it could've been a little better designed but it's whatever. I just view it as something extra. It is somewhat useful though. To turn on the DAC-80 you just have to press the volume knob button. However once on, a short press of the volume knob button just switches the input source. To put the DAC-80 into standby mode (the DAC doesn't really turn off fully unless you switch the power on the back or unplug it) you have to hold down the volume knob button for five seconds. With the remote you can just press the "off" button which is nice.
As for the sound of the DAC, my impressions are pretty similar to what the other reviewers around the interwebs have said. The DAC-80 was definitely a pretty big upgrade leap for me though (I had an ELE EL-D02 before which by the way is a great DAC for the price). Anyways, the DAC-80 is an incredibly smooth, warm, and maybe analog sounding, in a very good way, type of DAC. I can say that there isn't any "digital harshness" with the DAC-80 that is associated with delta-sigma DACs. Almost every acoustic instrument sounds absolutely amazing and realistic through the DAC-80. I think that it adds a very nice natural touch without masking any details.
I would say that the DAC-80 is very strong in detail retrieval and soundstage. I've had several instances where I'm listening to a song I've listened to several times and I notice new details that I've never heard before. The soundstage is pretty deep forwards and backwards with good imaging. Usually it's pretty easy to imagine where a sound is supposed to sound like it's coming from and where it is in relation to other instruments.
Overall, even if you don't need too much added warmth to your system, I think that the DAC-80 at this price point is one of the best DACs available. However, keep in mind that I'm coming from the view of a cheap DAC. I've heard better DACs, but never owned one. The DAC-80 definitely holds it's own though. Definitely a worthwhile buy if you're looking for a good mid-fi DAC option.
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