Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
al.stroh
41
May 2, 2018
I started with the Teac UD-301 DAC/Amp and upgraded to the UD-503 about a year after it was released. The difference in sound quality is significant, and to me, this is DAC is the bargain of the decade.
The combination of the Teac UD-503 DAC, Audiophile Optimizer and JRiver Media Center is astounding. The vast majority of my music collection consists of roughly 4TB of 24-bit/192Khz Flac, DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 files, in a variety of music genres. The above combination of hardware and software makes everything I listen to sound as if I'm hearing it for the very first time. It is that revealing.
The difference in sound quality between the UD-301 and UD-503 is staggering, and if you already have the UD-301 and you're considering upgrading, don't hesitate to do so; it is MORE than worth the extra money and the difference in sound quality is literally jaw-dropping.
I think the UD-503 is one of the most underrated and under appreciated DACs on the market. I used both the UD-301 and UD-503 in my studio, in a typical 'near-field' setup, so I can't attest to how it might sound in a more conventional living room or listening room environment. Friends who hear my system are simply blown away by the quality and quantity of crystal-clear music, and when they return home and listen to their own audio systems, they immediately want to upgrade their gear.
I have been an audiophile since the 70s (revealing my age here), and I've owned some very high-end audio gear over the years; McIntosh, Apogee, B&K, California Audio, Conrad-Johnson, to name a few. I'd put my studio system up against any of them. While that may not be a fair comparison (studio setup vs living room setup), it is to me as close to perfection as I'm able to attain. I HIGHLY recommend the UD-503.
BlueSkies
89
May 2, 2018
al.strohAgree completely. This level of TEAC gear is overlooked because it doesn't have glowing tubes and is not from a "boutique" maker. But in reality it's beautifully engineered audio gear and it bests anything in its price range. There is a little trickle-down from their Esoteric line here - TOTL solid-state Japanese audio.
Frogmeat
562
May 2, 2018
BlueSkiesI also agree, I have the NT-503, my favorite DAC, like it more than my Oppo HA-1, iFi iDSD Micro, among others, all run through my iFi iCan Pro, to me it sounds the most musical, just a joy to use with all types of music. The iFi is as good, just different, the Sabre Dac in the Oppo just hurt my ears, too sharp sounding, though my SMSL M8 isn't as bad. Hope Massdrop has the Topping D50 again soon, want to try the new Sabre chips.
Fayne
2575
May 2, 2018
FrogmeatHopefully the D50 is better than the DX7s. Man, that thing is a buggy nightmare. Might support higher res audio (PCM and DSD), but dang, lack of polish just ruins it.
muggy
53
May 2, 2018
FayneCurious, what issues did you see with the DX7s?
Fayne
2575
May 2, 2018
muggyIs mostly small stuff. Manual that came with it was very wrong (missing info on how to set the unit up without a remote). The controls for changing the DSD filters require a hard power cycle and you have to be in headphone + DAC mode. The USB portion of the unit never turns off. Even when using the HARD power switch on the back.
Audio quality is ok. But it POPS LOUD with every sample rate change. Most of the better software doesn't have this problem (because they have built in delays)... but gods forbid you try and use it with something like Plex. Bleeding ears or blown speakers.
Sometimes the unit doesn't initialize properly when playing back audio, and the output is garbled. Stopping and starting audio fixes that.
The unit itself is kind of prone to dropouts when using it on my 2016 27" i7 iMac. Isn't the cable or the mac, audio is streaming from Roon on an Xeon D-2146NT using 12*He8 SAS connected drives across a Cisco 3850U-E. Streaming to the UD-501 using the same cable, mac, server, and songs doesn't. This might be problem with my local unit.
If I'd have bought it anywhere other than MassDrop, it'd have been returned immediately. Might have a good set of chips for the DAC, but that firmware is just horrible.
Comparing it against the UD-501 I have? Man, the 501 is a dream. You just feed it audio. Done. Its internal up-sampling is good enough for my TV purposes. It NEVER makes unexpected loud noise. And when you flip the blade power switch, the bloody thing is OFF.
Frogmeat
562
May 2, 2018
FayneThat's too bad about the DX7s, hopefully Topping gets it figured out. And same for me with the 503, no problems at all so far for the year I've had it, though it's only used as a DAC, and occasionally I use the amp.
Xannen
63
May 3, 2018
al.strohIn your opinion, would the 503 be that large an upgrade over the 501? I have had the 501 and it is a serious piece of kit. My only issue with it is that the headphone amplification is less than stellar, though is clear enough performance wise.
I am using the 501 with the Lake People G109p for headphones and am very pleased with it, but that doesn't change the fact that the 503 is intriguing.
I remain surprised that TEAC doesn't have a larger following.. for the money, they make amazing gear, as you have stated.
al.stroh
41
May 3, 2018
XannenI have no experience with the 501, so I can't really comment on it.
I have no complaints about the headphone amp in my UD-503, which is driving my AKG K712 Pro cans, modified for balanced operation, and a couple of different pairs of IEMs with balanced cables. Everything runs in balanced mode in my studio setup; the 503, studio monitors, subwoofer, console, DI/mixer, etc. It's the only way to fly, in my book, and with no music playing, everything is noise free and dead silent.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile