NuForce DAC-80, Digital to Analog Converter with One USB and Three S/PDIF Inputs - Black

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Product Feature
- A class-leading digital-to-analog converter (supports USB and S/PDIF) designed for consumers seeking a level of performance typically found only in the finest audiophile equipment
- Asynchronous and re-clocking of digital input data such that any negative timing errors (jitter) are reduced to near theoretical limits for incredible details and ultra low distrotion
- Digital Inputs: 1 USB, 1 Toslink, 2 Coaxial
- Analog Outputs: 1 Stereo RCA
- Frequency Response: 20 to 20kHz +/- 0.25dB
Product Description
The audio enthusiast has a wide variety of affordable digital sources to choose from these days, but finding a quality DAC at an affordable price is far more a challenge. The NuForce DAC-80 was designed to no only meet that challenge, but to exeed it. Offering a level of musicality usually found only in the finest DACs available, the DAC-80 is sure to exceed yoru expectations -- and for an affordable price.NuForce DAC-80, Digital to Analog Converter with One USB and Three S/PDIF Inputs - Black Review
I bought the DAC-80 to replace a DAC of 1990s vintage fed from CD players via TOSLink and Coax. The DAC-80 is at least the equal of my Adcom GDA-700 when it comes to performance with CDs. There are a total of four digital inputs including (2) Coax (RCA connectors), (1) TOSLink optical, (1) USB. The power supply is self-contained and a heavy-duty line cord (with ferrite choke) is included. The unit includes a 32 bit digital volume control which operates very smoothly to control the output signal level. While Nuforce recommends you not feed the output directly to your amplifier, an email to their tech support revealed that the only reason for that is that the output is 4V max instead of the normal 2V max line level.The package includes a very small remote control whose buttons include input port selection, mute, volume up and down, power on and power off. The DAC itself is also quite small, about 1/4 the size of the Adcom GDA-700. I'm told that the DAC-80 is the old DAC-100 without the headphone amplifier and with a lower price. Apparently NuForce just used the old DAC-100 User's Guide for the DAC-80, but they missed a couple of necessary changes:
1. On the DAC-100, pushing the volume knob in apparently turned the DAC on or off. On the DAC-80, pushing the knob switches among the 4 input ports.
2. Contrary to the manual, the DAC-80 has no other "input buttons" as the manual states. To switch inputs, you either use the volume control push or the remote control.
It's a bit of a mystery to me why NuForce used such tiny LEDs for the sample rate and input indicators. In a lighted room, they're barely visible from 8 feet away and you really have to be close (and without any backlighting from a window) to read the input selected LEDs.
At this price point, the DAC-80 is one of the few that includes a volume control and a remote control. But, if you have any analog sources (tuner or ?), you're still going to need a preamp as there are no analog inputs here. If you have an older system like mine where the preamp didn't have a remote volume control, that feature on the DAC-80 will come in handy. The volume control steps are very small and you can easily set the level to exactly where you want it.
The DAC-80 appears to be an excellent choice at this price point based on the features and reputation of the DAC-100 predecessor.
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