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86% would recommend to a friend 
NuForce uDAC-3 DAC/Amp Combo
01 / 09
NuForce uDAC-3 DAC/Amp Combo
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Product Description
If you’ve paid a pretty penny for high-end cans or home speakers, why keep streaming audio straight from your headphone port? Designed to significantly upgrade any computer’s sound output and extract great detail from your music collection, the NuForce uDAC3 is powerful enough for noisy environments—yet small enough to fit in your pocket Read More
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Customer Reviews
4.1
(110 reviews)
5star(47)
4star(39)
3star(13)
2star(7)
1star(4)
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keyboard_arrow_downKOREANKID
35
Feb 23, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Ok, After all. This is my 1st Amp. I had connected it with my desktop
And also had connected my Thinksound on2 to this small amp.
Result is 'Gorgeous'.
At first, Because of this small size, I didn't expected some good aspects from it.
But Sound quality definitely had changed. Which means made sound be better.
I could hear much clear sound from my headphone.
Currently, I have been plugged my PC373D into this amp. Which is good to hear some sound of game, too.
For consindering simple usage, cheap price, and this sound improvement.
I think it's really worth it.
Well, I'm recommending to use it with your laptop, much better than connecting desktop.
Because of its small size, and straightforward usage.
(Edited)
Vedran70
4
Sep 18, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
Works great with my Audio Technica M40x headphones. Lot of detail, big stage. Recommend it.
WhiteAndBlueDude
63
Oct 30, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
A great entry point to better audio
As someone looking to dip their toe into the audiophile sphere, this DAC/Amp was a great bang for the buck. Set up was very simple in Windows 10, I just plugged the unit into my laptop/desktop via USB cable and within a few seconds it was automatically set up and ready to go.
But let's cut to the chase, was there a noticeable difference in my listening experience with this unit? Absolutely.
Across several genres of music, instruments sounded clearer and more independent from one another. There was also a noticeable bump in how loud I could play music without distortion.
Does it compare with much higher price-point DAC/Amps? Certainly not, but that's to be expected with a product like this.
If you're someone with a good pair of headphones/IEMs and want to have a great budget solution to improved audio quality, give these a shot.
Tested on:
Listened with:
- Surface Pro Laptop
- Desktop featuring Gigabyte H-97 ATX Motherboard
Listened with:
- Sony MDR 7506 Headphones
- KZ AS10 IEMs
Recommends this product? Yes
bryro
3
Apr 30, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
The massdrop price was much cheaper than anywhere else. I wouldnt recommend this for the full price as there are better options, but for the $50 massdrop price its a steal. Does exactly what I need it to do for cheap.
-I had issues with this product cutting out on windows 7 but it works fine with windows 10
-I had issues with this product cutting out on windows 7 but it works fine with windows 10
Gnerd
17
Jul 26, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
UPDATE: I've started experiencing random cutouts. I have to unplug the USB cable and plug it back in to get sound back. Adjusting my rating accordingly from 5 to 2 stars.
This is my first DAC/Amp. I've been skeptical of the value of them, but this was inexpensive enough to risk trying. I love it. I'm using it with the Status Audio CB-1 headphones I got from Massdrop and a pair of Audio Technica ATH-SJ11s. The sound is excellent. A surprise benefit is the volume knob. I hadn't realized how much I missed a physical knob. :-) Five stars unless it starts displaying the premature death others have reported.
This is my first DAC/Amp. I've been skeptical of the value of them, but this was inexpensive enough to risk trying. I love it. I'm using it with the Status Audio CB-1 headphones I got from Massdrop and a pair of Audio Technica ATH-SJ11s. The sound is excellent. A surprise benefit is the volume knob. I hadn't realized how much I missed a physical knob. :-) Five stars unless it starts displaying the premature death others have reported.
bsastor
779
Dec 29, 2018
The white LED will only change to white when there is actual sound output through the unit.
Even when it's switched to SPDIF output on the OS, the LED stays blue.
Hope it helps.
steme
5
Feb 22, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Pros:
· Product Design, Packaging etc. Everything looks very good, chick and sturdy indeed. Usage is simple and straightforward as promised.
· I plugged it into my Laptop and Windows 10 installed the driver pretty quickly and it played. No driver fumble by me needed.
· Great Feature set: Analog out and S/PDIF on RCA as well as Volume Potentiometer are really nice features. Fully counterclockwise the Pot even switches the unit off, although the Power LED remains lit. (a bit confusing at first)
· Unit can go pretty loud. Enough Power on hand for most Headphones or IEMs.
Cons:
· Sound wise: I am somewhat underwhelmed. It sounds a bit dull, slow and narrow. Not great in terms of resolution and upper Frequency detail. Transients seem soft and somewhat slurred. The stereo image and stage image are narrow and smaller than usual. The overall performance is very close to my Audioengine D3 24-BIT DAC/HEADPHONE AMP. Actually it sounds almost the same. They both sound not really better than the HP output of my cheap Dell-Laptop. I tried many different Headphones with different Impedances, different USB connectors and a USB Hub, different USB Filters etc.
I must say that my older (but much less sexy) SCHIIT DAC/AMP combo (Modi+Magni) sounds considerably better so far. But maybe that's a bit unfair as those have separate power supplies and their whole design is more sophisticated and a bit pricier.
I hope the pricier Units from NuForce like the uDAC5 sound better. Couldn’t compare yet. Then again: The feature set for the asking price is really good. Probably the cheapest USB to S/PDIF converter you can get. That’s why I keep it as I have use for that at least.
therealfatshady
20
Dec 18, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
When it works, it works great! But I keep having an issue where it will suddenly stop outputting audio. Restarting, various driver reinstalls, messing with sound settings, these steps sometimes seem to fix the issue while other times they don't. For the price you're getting an excellent product, but it might be a very nice paperweight with a knob if you run into the issues I have
Iridescentpossum
3
Apr 10, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Performance is iffy at best. Always has crackling/static in the signal, often time getting to a level that I simply cannot listen to anything through it. I read reviews mentioning this before buying but bought anyways - this is one time I really wish I had listened to reviews.
I have a Lenovo PC running on Windows 10.
djfirestorm
20
Aug 30, 2019
IridescentpossumThe issue is actually your power supply for your laptop. I was among the first DJ's to use a DAC and I discovered the solution to noise by accident. You need to get a higher amp, 2 prong (not 3) aftermarket power supply. Coolermaster makes some good ones. The issue is 2 part, using a power supply requiring grounding can introduce feedback from the electrical panel (on cheap power supplies that lack filter) and the battery of a laptop even at 100% will still have charge cycles, which the charge cycle will introduce a sin wave. So its not really the DAC fault, but the USB power from the source fault. That is however the difference from a cheap DAC and a better one, proper circuitry to circumvent the fault of the USB power source.
ConradGeneral
8
Jun 17, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
It worked great for a while but recently I have started having this wierd issue where it cuts out into just static and the unit gets super hot, I haven't used it nearly enough or even taken it away from my computer desk often enough for it to have been broken.
ConradGeneral
8
Sep 8, 2018
It does it with two different windows 10 computers I have, it is totally random when it does it and even the frequency that it happens is random, I have had it happen like every few minutes then not for like hours.
Canowyrms
11
Sep 9, 2018
ConradGeneralThanks for chiming in. Think I'll find a different solution, as all my computers run windows 10. Definitely don't want to experience this!
HE911
6
May 17, 2018
I'm very pleased with the item, however the shipping is quite horrible, using USPS as the preferred method. This could have arrived faster during the week. I wish Fedex or UPS was available.
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