Teac UD-H01 DAC Review

The TEAC UD-H01 Dual Monoaural DA Converter ($399.00 USD) is a plucky little character, with two salient characteristics:

1. It has a power supply.
2. It does 24/192.

Well, we had to get a Mac Pro in order to write this review of the Teac UD-H01 DAC. Actually, Mac Mini. Why do we say Pro? Well, the Teac UD-H01 has professional XLR output (3-pin, balanced).

That's unusual in this mass-market low-fi DAC segment. Unusual indeed.

The Cambridge Acoustics DAC Magic Plus started this game, at least for us. A well-specified mid-fi product, the Cambridge Acoustics DAC Magic Plus not only offers XLR output, but also 24-bit 384 kHz up-sampling, with USB, 3 x coax or toslink, and ipod input, along with filter-phase choices, ground lift, and a headphone output to boot.


We listened to the DAC Magic Plus with the Sennheiser IE-800 ($1000.00 USD) in-ear headphone, and expected to hear something special. At least something a bit like the Classe SSP-800 driving CTM-600's driving Bowers & Wilkins 802 diamonds.

What we heard was completely unremarkable, and in-differentiable audiphonically from the iPhone 4, without external amplification.

A DAC like the DAC Magic Plus, or the Teac UD-H01 includes headphone amplification and output, but you can't really expect it to drive headphones which you would find attractive.

It should be a good test, however, to see if it can drive an in-ear, as these are designed to be driven by the smallest powered and sized electronics.

A product like the Teac UD-H01 DAC ups the ante. Not only from an iPhone, or an Android, but from a budget-DAC in that it includes a stable and resolute power supply - one that draws from the wall, via a 3-pin plug, and not from your PC.

While DAC's like the ifi iDSD include their own power supply - battery - DAC's like the Calynx Coffee, AudioEngine D1 or even our favourite FiiO Olympus rely on USB for power, and that's a mark against them, in our book. Only the AudioQuest Dragonfly and other USB sticks like it escape our wrath, for relying on USB for power. :)

Yes, you can get a iFi iUSB Power to clean the line, and deliver stable power, but it would be nice if your DAC had a stable power setup to begin.

That's the case for the Teac UD-H01. We've stacked it up against the Mark Levinson designed Proceed AVP in a home theatre test and found it an excellent performer. With music. With effects.

Now, can you get away with a 24 bit / 192 kHz DAC in this day and age? Maths and physics ascribed by most say you more than can. That 16 bit, 44.1 kHz is done well. And well, enough.

Have you a well enough responding system such as a Bryston DAC, Bryston 28BSST2 amplification, and a pair of Focal Grande Utopia III EM's (sorry for using this example, but it serves our purpose of illustration), you can more than get away with listening to 16 bit 44.1 kHz jazz.

In fact, it's downright special. The format. Now onto SACD.

The audiophile community has been far slow to adopt the SACD and DSDx2 (superior) audio format. It is surprising since the introduction of the Korg MR-2000, not to see it in every consumer DAC.

With such an inexpensive ($2000.00) AD/DA and recorder of audiophile use available, and demonstrable, how is it that every consumer device of audiophile respectable preventions not at least support these two (2) formats?

You'll see below that we have not awarded very good marks to the Teac. Perhaps this would be a good time to re-explain our judging criteria. 100 points in sound is in reference to the best imaginable - not only the best available. We write like a wine reviewer of fine wine. Value is strictly what (after review) we believe the device is worth, new.

So 15% in sound does not mean that the device audibly "sucks" it may mean that it has very competent sound, and that we like it. That's the case with the Teac UD-H01. We didn't need it, but we bought it, because we liked it. That, and we wished to write a review for you.

7.5% in value does not mean that you are getting nothing, in terms of physical, electronic product. Rather the opposite. It's rather sturdy. It means that we value the product at 7.5% of $399.00 USD - $29.93 USD - a very good number. Likely, you don't need a DAC, so this is a fair purchase value.

Likely, should you have a DVD player such as the Oppo BPD-105D Darbee Edition ($1,299.00 USD), or a great headphone amplifier like the Oppo HA-1 Headphone Amplifier ($1,199.00 USD), you will already have a very good DAC.

Even an Oppo like the BPD-105D ($599.00 USD) has a very good DAC.

Should you be looking for a DAC, don't forget the TEAC!

Reference:

Calynx Coffee

Sound: 15/100
Value: 7.5/100
Total Points: 22.5 / 200

JP 2015/03/27
www.hifiart.ca