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Radsone HUD100 DAC/Amp

Radsone HUD100 DAC/Amp

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243 requests
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24 Sold
Product Description
Radsone developed a strong reputation with the portable ES100 DAC/amp. Now, with the new HUD100, the company brings that same performance to an even smaller form factor Read More

Customer Reviews

3.8
(5 reviews)
5star
(1)
4star
(3)
3star
(0)
2star
(1)
1star
(0)
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Hyde
1119
May 1, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Tried to love it but just couldn't
UPDATE: Drop has issued me a refund on the defective product. 5/5 on customer service. Would definitely buy from drop again. I have updated the rating to 4 star since it's confirmed that it is indeed defect as opposed to how the product was designed. =================================================================================== PROS:
  • Very nice detail, I could hear extra nuances that I never heard before.
  • Separation and layering is good.
  • Decent sound stage.
  • Very neutral uncolored sound.
  • Has low gain / high gain, and bypass / DCT / Dynamic modes.
  • Very small and compact.
  • Very nice finish and build quality, even the "click" when you plug it in is nice and pronounced.
  • Almost everything is metal finish.

CONS:
  • Can do everything decent but nothing really stands out.
  • Some might like the neutral presentation but to me is a little bit boring.
  • Comes with a 10 cm short cord and a 1 m long cord, but the 1 m is still too short to reach from my desk to PC.
  • String instrument and female vocal is a bit laid back, which make up most of the music I listen to.
  • Will not turn on when I start my PC, had to un-plug and re-plug every time.
  • A lot of competition in this price bracket, does not stand out amongst the crowd.
=================================================================================== So I got this unit for about 2 weeks now, the first disappointing news is that the official site sell it for cheaper now even before I got my unit. But that's okay it's not a huge price difference so I was still looking forward to it. First the build quality is very very nice, like I said earlier even the click when you plug in is very crisp and nicely pronounced. In contrast my Dragonfly Red has non-existent click when you plug it in, it just feels mushy. HUD100 also has a tiny dot for LED indicator which looks elegant and does not distract you from the design. After admiring the design now how does it sound? Here is the weird part. Objectively if you look at it, very neutral sound, nice sound stage, nice layering, does well in every category, but somehow I just couldn't get into it. In contrast my current unit which is a Dragonfly Red, it has boosted string instruments, female vocal, and a little boosted mid bass hump, and kind of roll off sub bass, sounds a little bit uneven and messy but somehow when I listen to it it just sounds musical to me. Maybe I'm used to the lush colored sound as oppose to very neutral sound. But hang on, it also comes with 3 different modes and 2 different gain options, so I must be able to find something that I enjoy. First off I find it weird that low gain actually sound warmer but less detailed compare to using high gain and adjust to the same volume. High gain somehow sounds more dynamic and more detailed to me than the low gain setting adjusted to the same volume. After that I think DCT is the default setting, which turns out to be my least favorite setting out of the 3. I think they try to make it into a smoothed sound and reduced treble but overall it just sounds overly smoothed and muddy to me. I think Bypass is probably my favorite setting since it sound the cleanest and most detailed, and to my understanding that Dynamic is basically just Bypass added with a bass boost. But the issue is that Bypass to me has too little bass and Dynamic to me has too much bass so I wish they had a middle ground. Though overall I find the sound not bad but just doesn't really pop out to me (maybe treble too laid back and female vocal too laid back too). Then finally the deal breaker for me is that somehow it won't power on when I turn on my computer, I had to un-plug it and re-plug it back every time. Which gets kind of annoying everyday. I then contacted Radsone and they said it's not an intended behavior and all their units turn on properly. I then contacted drop.com to see if I can return my unit or get it exchanged but I haven't heard back, it's been 4 days now? We'll see what happens later (contacted them on Apr 27, 2020). For now I'll leave my rating at 3 star as is, I'll probably update it accordingly depending on what answer I get later from the customer rep. In short, if you like neutral sound with a slight hint of warmth or if you're treble sensitive then you might like this unit. But for me I tried really hard but just couldn't get into it unfortunately. Also there are so many cheaper dac/amp out there these days so it's making it really hard for me to recommend this unit. Also at this point I think I might like Sabre dac the best out of all the dacs I've tried (this units is AKM dac). Finally I must apologize for the long review but I hope this will help people with their purchase decision. Good luck!
(Edited)
Recommends this product? No
taekim81
1
Apr 30, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
WTF! Exclusive debut price is higher than manufacture web site price.
RADSONE advertised on their facebook page drop.com debut price($149) is the lowest price otherwise you have to purchase them $170 elsewhere. Well, they were selling for $133 when I receive the item after waiting for 37 days. I guess they don't respect their group buy partner. I feel like it's false advertising. No bad feelings about the product though.
mindhead1
599
May 7, 2020
taekim81It’s $119 now.
LGNDARY
71
Apr 28, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Absolutely spectacular
I haven't tried this with everything, but I purchased for use with my chromebook. It detected and worked right away. Quality amp dac with surprising power for its size. Can easily drive high impedance headphones (sennheisser 6XX). I didn't detect a large difference between two of the modes but I definitely like the two radsone designed over the other (deeper bass with crystal clear highs and vocals weren't drowned out). When something like this exists, it makes you wonder why quality sound isn't incorporated into a laptop etc.
Recommends this product? Yes
Mapman
9
Apr 11, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
One bug with Android...
With a Shield set top box, when you change from the music app or switch Youtube channels, the hud1 goes into an error state that requires reconnect to shield v 8.x.x.x.x.x.105 or Android phone v5. LED goes from green to red and there is a constant tone in the listening device. I tried to download firmware but the app said I had latest.
Recommends this product? Yes
Radsone_Emily
34
Jul 13, 2020
MapmanHello, the bug is now fixed :) Would you please try the firmware update via our website? www.earstudio.store/products/hud100 Please refer to the manual on the homepage to learn about how to update the firmware.
Mapman
9
Jul 15, 2020
Radsone_EmilyEvery time I run the file my anti virus disables it. I wouldn't disable my antivirus.
chuchu000
0
Jun 8, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Recommends this product? No
fieldcar
53
Jun 15, 2020
chuchu0004 stars and you wouldn't recommend to a friend?
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