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Post by Casey Leedom on May 11, 2018 12:37:38 GMT -5
Ever since Asahi Kasei Microdevices introduced their new flagship Digital to Analog Converter, the AK4497, as a follow up to their previous flagship AK4490, I've been keeping an eye out for DACs using the AK4497 — especially in "Dual Monaural Mode" where one chip is used in Monaural Mode for each of the two channels like the Teac NT-503. Well, it looks like Teac is following up with a new NT-505. Interesting ... Casey |
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Post by mountain on May 11, 2018 12:52:49 GMT -5
I have been following this item as well, it has been released in Europe, but not in the USA, last I checked. Roon ready, Mqa, network player, etc.
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Post by Casey Leedom on May 11, 2018 12:59:57 GMT -5
There's apparently some controverys surrounding Teac's claims about " Bulk Pet Mode" USB Transfer modes to "Vary sound characteristics". I.e. that's it's complete Horse Hockey and not actually possible to do at the software level on attached Hosts. See the on-going discussion in the Computer Audiophile thread TEAC NT-505 NT505 Worth Waiting for ?Casey |
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Post by Casey Leedom on May 11, 2018 13:25:39 GMT -5
But, as a friend of mine noted, if the Teac NT-505 truly implements a Roon Endpoint, then all of the USB Bulk Pet Mode nonsense would be moot. (But it does make me nervous when a company starts engaging in weird audiophile gobbledygook ...)
Casey
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 9,934
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Post by KeithL on May 11, 2018 13:28:52 GMT -5
I saw quite a bit of "fluffy tech talk" in their description..... (completely nonsensical or just plain silly claims). Their "bulk pet mode" seems to incorporate the idea of padding the data stream to "even out the data rate". In theory, it should make no difference, because any USB mode should be able to deliver data perfectly at the speeds required by digital audio. In practice, because it will interact with certain weaknesses in certain other devices, in some cases you may end up with slight differences in sound. (But do remember that any audible difference is simply a flaw in one or both choices; there is "only one right".) Note that, in one description, it is described as "varying sound characteristics" while, in another, they allude simply to avoiding dropouts when used with certain other equipment - which seems more likely. Overall, though, I'm inclined to believe that Teac is capable of putting out a competent product, so it probably works well. (I wouldn't hold a little silliness on the part of their marketing department against them.) There's apparently some controverys surrounding Teac's claims about " Bulk Pet Mode" USB Transfer modes to "Vary sound characteristics". I.e. that's it's complete Horse Hockey and not actually possible to do at the software level on attached Hosts. See the on-going discussion in the Computer Audiophile thread TEAC NT-505 NT505 Worth Waiting for ?Casey |
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Post by Casey Leedom on May 11, 2018 13:41:00 GMT -5
So i found a bit more information on their "Bulk Pet" stuff in this Japanese NT-505 web page: So it seems to be solely associated with USB Isochronous Transfer Mode. I'm looking to see if they say anywhere that they support the standard UAC Packet-based Audio transfer. I can't imagine that they don't ... Casey |
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Post by Casey Leedom on May 11, 2018 13:50:29 GMT -5
Wow. Maybe it doesn't support standard USB UAC 2.0. I downloaded the NT-505 User Manual and it has this on Page 25: Hhmmm ... Sounds unpromising. But I suppose all of that would be bypassed if using Roon over the native Ethernet. Casey |
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Post by vcautokid on May 12, 2018 5:21:19 GMT -5
I saw quite a bit of "fluffy tech talk" in their description..... (completely nonsensical or just plain silly claims). Their "bulk pet mode" seems to incorporate the idea of padding the data stream to "even out the data rate". In theory, it should make no difference, because any USB mode should be able to deliver data perfectly at the speeds required by digital audio. In practice, because it will interact with certain weaknesses in certain other devices, in some cases you may end up with slight differences in sound. (But do remember that any audible difference is simply a flaw in one or both choices; there is "only one right".) Note that, in one description, it is described as "varying sound characteristics" while, in another, they allude simply to avoiding dropouts when used with certain other equipment - which seems more likely. Overall, though, I'm inclined to believe that Teac is capable of putting out a competent product, so it probably works well. (I wouldn't hold a little silliness on the part of their marketing department against them.) There's apparently some controverys surrounding Teac's claims about " Bulk Pet Mode" USB Transfer modes to "Vary sound characteristics". I.e. that's it's complete Horse Hockey and not actually possible to do at the software level on attached Hosts. See the on-going discussion in the Computer Audiophile thread TEAC NT-505 NT505 Worth Waiting for ?Casey Marketing is the sugar, but the cake is why I buy it. Teac frankly is not anymore guilty of this than anyone else. Wanna have some fun with Schiit and some of their claims? While they too make a competent product some of their bull-schiit is entertaining. Substance over hyperbole or market speak. It is what is about. I think Teac is making some interesting gear lately too. I think I am uncertain if they would be my first choice consistently. Too much other good gear to consider. |
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Post by michaelvb on Feb 7, 2019 10:31:30 GMT -5
Thought I would give this a bump since no one posted any info on the actual unit and their experience with it. I have the NT-505 and it is all they claim. Yes it was frustrating at first to have to upload the firmware to give me MQA and know that ROON was still on its way. The updating process was clearly written and an easy firmware update, which actually made me more familiar and confident with the DAC. I became a bit frustrated with how long the ROON firmware upgrade came after my purchase and at one point started to feel I was taken to the cleaners and it would never arrive, but arrive it did. Once again I was forced to move the unit to my PC to perform the firmware update and again it went smoothly. Now I have a fully functioning DAC as the manufacturer advertised, but it should have been that way from the get-go in my opinion. The sound is magnificent, the bluetooth works great and it integrates with ROON wonderfully. I use a cat 6 network connection so I cannot comment on the sound over USB. CDs verses Streaming my FLAC files from my NAS drive is a wonderful experience since they are indistinguishable. You cannot tell the difference between a streamed file from a harddrive and the original CD, ROON does a wonderful job if your unit is ROON certified. There was a huge sound difference prior to the unit being ROON Certified and that firmware upgrade. Streaming was convenient but I preferred the CD prior to the upgrade. The updated AK4497 chip set over the previous one in the NT-503 is a noticeable upgrade in my opinion. The NT-503 sounds great so I might not upgrade just for that change but because the 505 is MQA and ROON ready now it is a significant upgrade and worth doing. This player, in my opinion, is not over priced and competes with ones that cost much more, so I see it as a really good buy. I am familiar with the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC and I prefer the sound of the TEAC over that ladder DAC. The TEAC is much more analogue sounding to my ears. For those who still are in the market for a DAC or still are holding out for this one, I recommended it wholeheartedly.
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Post by Casey Leedom on Feb 8, 2019 16:52:06 GMT -5
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Post by michaelvb on Feb 8, 2019 18:49:22 GMT -5
I cannot give you the complete answer you want, however I was lent a MicroRendu to use until the TEAC was certified, but after investigating what would be required to be able to make this work I passed on using it. I felt that it was too cumbersome to use and just introduced one more piece of electronics that would be between the file and DAC. Once the TEAC was certified other than updating the firmware and dropping an ethernet line to the room all I had to do was snap a three foot long cat 6 cable into the back of the DAC and I was off streaming. The MicroRendu meant I had to use an additional piece of hardware and a USB cable. I believe a straight ethernet connection would be a much purer way of passing files to the DAC. Why add one more component? To me the proof is how magnificent it sounds and how little there is in components particularly since I have a Digital only system; CD, Digital Files and Internet. Component wise it is also straightforward; Transport/NAS Drive, PC, DAC, Pre, Amplifiers and Speakers. Connections; power cables, ethernet, interconnects and speaker cable.
I would think using a MicroRendu would be advantageous if you did not have a Network ready DAC and / or you had a slow computer without much RAM. The Key in my opinion is having the correct PC set up. If you don't then the MicroRendu replaces that and will give you the performance you need. I am using an Intel Core i7 with 12 gigs of RAM and the hard drive that holds my programs is a SSD, so performance is not an issue.
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