HiFimeDIY UD20 USB Digital Power Amplifier
Alright, I'll admit, I just want to be the first one posting about this. Since, I dont know about DDX, nor do I begin to understand the implications of PCM to PWM conversion.
The primary differences are USB input vs SPDIF, OPTICAL on the previous DDX320v2. Which is presently out of stock. Lower power output. 20W at 8 ohms vs 75/65 at 4 and 8 ohms respectively for the DDX320v2. Might be sufficient for the system I presently looking into. The output stage is a STA335BW, presumably a lower rung model compared to the STA510A on the DDX320v2. The USB receiver is a savitech SA9023. The DDX320v2 had a wolfson WM8805. The UD20 takes 24/96 from USB, compared to the 32/192 that the DDX accepts. It's stereo while the DDX is 2.1. Finally, it comes fully assembled in a case with a volume pot.
No word on the pricing yet. It says they will start shipping in the beginning of december on the site.
Alright, I'll admit, I just want to be the first one posting about this. Since, I dont know about DDX, nor do I begin to understand the implications of PCM to PWM conversion.
The primary differences are USB input vs SPDIF, OPTICAL on the previous DDX320v2. Which is presently out of stock. Lower power output. 20W at 8 ohms vs 75/65 at 4 and 8 ohms respectively for the DDX320v2. Might be sufficient for the system I presently looking into. The output stage is a STA335BW, presumably a lower rung model compared to the STA510A on the DDX320v2. The USB receiver is a savitech SA9023. The DDX320v2 had a wolfson WM8805. The UD20 takes 24/96 from USB, compared to the 32/192 that the DDX accepts. It's stereo while the DDX is 2.1. Finally, it comes fully assembled in a case with a volume pot.
No word on the pricing yet. It says they will start shipping in the beginning of december on the site.
It seems to be ready for shipping now, and it is priced at €60.25. I'll probably order one and compare it to the DDX320v2.
Hi all,
I've been lurking on the forum for a while now - I admire your knowledge and work being done guys.
I was wondering if anyone was testing UD20/UD80. My question is: are these amps sonically a step up from say; 1) entry level NAD, Marantz Yamaha 2)himediy T1 amp+sabre dac? Thanks
I've been lurking on the forum for a while now - I admire your knowledge and work being done guys.
I was wondering if anyone was testing UD20/UD80. My question is: are these amps sonically a step up from say; 1) entry level NAD, Marantz Yamaha 2)himediy T1 amp+sabre dac? Thanks
Hi Fando,
Sorry no one has replied to you.
I am very certain that the UD20 is an improvement to the list of amps you have mentioned.
It seems to be excellent value for money. If I was not busy on other projects at the moment, I would not hesitate buying one.
Sorry no one has replied to you.
I am very certain that the UD20 is an improvement to the list of amps you have mentioned.
It seems to be excellent value for money. If I was not busy on other projects at the moment, I would not hesitate buying one.
Hello AudioLapDance,
You have so many amps and preamps !!!
How does the sound of UD20 compared to your TPA3116 amp ?
I am interested in the UD80 and would like to hear opinions before jumping in .
cheers
kp93300
You have so many amps and preamps !!!
How does the sound of UD20 compared to your TPA3116 amp ?
I am interested in the UD80 and would like to hear opinions before jumping in .
cheers
kp93300
Any opinions on the UD20 or UD80? I was considering buying the UD80 or a nuforce DDA 100 but can see no comparisons on internet
Well,
I have a UD80 with a Indeed adapter 36V 5A, and the sound is almost equivalent to my Sure TK2050 + sound card RME HDSP 9632.
Sure TK2050 is the same that Hifimediy T1 (I compared these two few years ago)
the UD80 power is equivalent to a T1 : very powerful.
The audio quality is equivalent to a T1 + good SMPS + HIFImediy ESS9023 USB DAC (I have this DAC too)
I think the UD80 is the best choice behind a computer or smartphone and nothing is better below $ 400.
French review here
my English is too weak to translate this. 😱
I have a UD80 with a Indeed adapter 36V 5A, and the sound is almost equivalent to my Sure TK2050 + sound card RME HDSP 9632.
Sure TK2050 is the same that Hifimediy T1 (I compared these two few years ago)
the UD80 power is equivalent to a T1 : very powerful.
The audio quality is equivalent to a T1 + good SMPS + HIFImediy ESS9023 USB DAC (I have this DAC too)
I think the UD80 is the best choice behind a computer or smartphone and nothing is better below $ 400.
French review here
my English is too weak to translate this. 😱
Thanks for the opinion.
Do you think the SMSL Q5 is a full digital amplifier? The advertise it as such, but then it has analog input on the back 😕
You can see it here, SMSL Q5 True Digital Audio Amplifier Remote USB Fiber Coaxial Input 192kHz 50W 2 | eBay
i contacted hifymediy and seems that also a pre boxed 320 chipset based amp maybe in their plans.
Still it is really puzzling to make a choice without any serious comparisons to nuforce/wadia/nad "budget" full digital amps.
Do you think the SMSL Q5 is a full digital amplifier? The advertise it as such, but then it has analog input on the back 😕
You can see it here, SMSL Q5 True Digital Audio Amplifier Remote USB Fiber Coaxial Input 192kHz 50W 2 | eBay
i contacted hifymediy and seems that also a pre boxed 320 chipset based amp maybe in their plans.
Still it is really puzzling to make a choice without any serious comparisons to nuforce/wadia/nad "budget" full digital amps.
I guess it depends on your definition of "full digital amplifier".
Loudspeakers are intrinsically analog. What would a digital output look like?
Actually it doesn't. A digital amplifier is an amplifier that has no D/A conversion taking place before the output filters (or the speaker, if filterless). Consequently it has to be open loop, ie. there can be no feedback anywhere from the digital input to the output, neither global nor local as that would mean an A/D conversion is taking place somewhere in the chain.
A digital amplifier can however have analog inputs.
"Digital amplifier" is a confusing term, "Full digital amplifier" double so. Class D amps are PWM amps, using switching elements. There doesn't need to be anything "digital" about it. The PWM function can have no feedback, analog feedback or digital feedback. Now, which ones of those are "digital amplifiers" and which ones "full digital amplifiers"?
There is no such thing as digital feedback. If there is feedback it comes from an analog source. Now that might be converted into a digital signal but that doesn't make it anymore digital than an analog feedback.
Please understand the amplifier you are commenting on. This is a digital amplifier.
Now, does that make it any better or worse than an analog amplifier with digital signal processing? It naturally makes it... worse. Only people that have no understanding of the problems of making what is essentially a full power DAC with low order reshaping filter and floating output impedance would even suggest that would be a good thing but I digress. Some people think that it's a great idea to have a high noise low dampening factor amp. So let them. As long as it doesn't output more than the allowed EMI and RFI, it doesn't bother me.
The point I was trying to make is that it really doesn't make much sense to worry if something is "fully digital" or not. No amp, driving an analog loudspeaker, is ever "fully digital".
Most class D amps are purely analog, and and as you say, better for it.
Most class D amps are purely analog, and and as you say, better for it.
The counterargument is naturally that there is no such thing as an analog signal. All electrical signals are inherently quantifiable because the charge of the individual electrons is indivisible and therefore digital.
I am not sure quantifiability is a sufficient criteria for being digital. If you sample and hold an analog signal, you get discrete samples of an analog quantity, but you have not yet converted it to a digital value (one represented by combinations of bits).
You don't understand 😀 There is no such thing as an analog electrical signal to sample in the first place. All electrical signals are inherently digital because digital just means it's discrete values, or in other words that the smallest possible component is indivisible. At the end of line, you can just count how many electrons have passed within the required time frame. It's not really relevant to this discussion though, so I'll let everyone get on with their day.
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