Sony UDA1/B Hi-Res USB DAC System for PC Audio

I have quite a few 24bit high resolution audio files, and even though they sound better than traditional MP3s, I didn't feel like I was getting full benefit of the lossless files. This device is a relatively inexpensive answer. Other High Res audio solutions run into the thousands. I have the revive hooked up to my iMAC via the supplied cable. Note: if you use a toslink cable, you will not get the full 24bit experience. You must run your HD files through the Sony interface. The interface is a bit immature, but that is minor. It will show the file type (flac, AIFF, etc) and the kHz rate. If you choose to play your files via iTunes, it will not give you your full experience, so it is a must you use the Sony Hi-Res audio player. This player is available for Windows as well as Mac. I did not look into a Linux/Unix player.

I bought this only for playing DSD. It is a good combination of headphone amp, bookshelf speaker amp, DAC with DSD128 support. Overall it is a good hardware.Now why only 3 stars? Usability and stability! I haven't tested on Windows, but as a Mac user, I find the player software too basic and even lacking. The app provides basic playback, with a playlist where you can drag and drop songs. But you cannot drop a folder. You need to select audio files and drop to the list. When you want to remove songs, you cannot use Cmd+A to select all. These are just some basic stuffs. The player does allow saving playlist, but only in some non standard .xml format. (You used the provided API in NSDocument right?) It feels like 1990's, and it doesn't support the 21st century .cue file for playlist.Stability is a bigger issue for me. Upgrading to OS X10.11.1 fixed the playback issue that some other user has reported. I put my DSD audio files on a USB3 SSD drive. But still sometimes the music gets messed up like reading from bad CD or weak radio. Luckily there's no high pitch, just distorted sound. Pause the music and resume playing, the problem is gone, for a while. Feels like the data packets got messed up. There's an option to use larger buffer. I tried and it seems to prevent the distortion, but that means before playing every song it will take 5-10 seconds to buffer. The developer seems don't know how to prebuffer the next song at the end of current one. Oh btw the buffering does not always succeed. You might see something like unable to allocate memory. Oh dear! You will need to click play manually and hope the buffering will succeed.Also on Mac, you are stuck on the SONY provided app, due to not supporting DoP. It's using ASIO, so Windows users might be able to use a better player. But Mac users will have to endure the problems above. iPhone also only supports DoP, so no you can't use iOS app to play either. Strangely, the app looks exactly same as TEAC player. Seems like it's outsourced to a 3rd party dev (who is not very skilled)I was hoping to use UDA-1 as Amp for now, and when I got a new amp, I could keep it as a pure DAC thanks to line output. The hardware itself is decent. I would give 5 stars for the sounds quality, but only 1 star for usability and stability of the software (on Mac). I'll probably return this one and get either a network connected DAC (supporting NAS), or a usb DAC that supports DoP.

Received on time and is everything it says it is. It's perfect for my system. The sound through my HD700 headphones is incredible and when I don't want to listen to headphones the ability to have speakers hooked up is great. I couldn't be more pleased with the product.

Absolutely fantastic DAC. I love this thing.

5 star.

This blew my socks off! I do not know whether to cry or to laugh! I am writing this while listening to ‘Celine Dione – The Power of Love’ on the Sony UDA1 DAC System for PC Audio using just pair of Sony SS-CS5 BookShelf Speakers. I am no audiophile, just an ordinary guy that loves music from Classical, Techno, Dance, Rap, Heavy Metal or anything in between. What else can I say! If I can give it 10 stars I would. Unfortunately five is the highest you can go.Hi-Res Audio – what is it? I did not know much about it until I received this. If you have watched non HDMI movies vs the HDMI (1080p) movies the comparison is similar, but now it is audio vs video for HDMI. So basically it is like cooking before the Microwave! If you never had it you won’t know the difference. What you have listened to before is basically quite useless when compared to Hi-Res audio.The sounds are so clear that you would not believe your ears! You can basically increase the volume to max and the sound only gets better. When music was first created in the studios this is how it was supposed to be. What we’ve been listening to so far the quality of sound has been lost thru the imaging and digitizing process, no matter how good you thought it was.So far all the songs I have tried on this has been FLAC files. I tried regular MP3 files and you would not get the same effect – so you do need hi-res music files. There is no up conversion process unlike HDMI to 4K etc, that you see on some of the latest TVs. That said you can always listen to your existing MP3 files on this and the quality will be lot better than listening to them on a regular PC audio system.You need a Hi Res Audio Player on your PC. I downloaded the one from Sony (the link is on the user manual). Also you need to install a USB driver which you can also download form the Sony site (again noted in the manual). All of those worked perfectly without any issues and I use a Windows 7 machine. The setup and installation is extremely easy. I purchased the most expensive speaker wires from Home Depot (as you would need good quality wire).The build quality of the UDA-1 and the CS-SS5 Bookshelf speakers are exceptional. They are solidly made and have an expensive touch to them. Sony is really back! This is what Sony was 20 years ago. But they really need to advertise and market as no one knows about these exceptional products they are making.Mind you before this, my in home-theater was a 7.2 Harmon Kardon system with a mid-range Pioneer Amp that cost me about 3000$ so yes I am used to good sound! But this thing is tiny (9 inches long, couple inches tall) and the bookshelf speakers are small as well, but the sound that comes out of this system will blow you away. Yes it is expensive but worth every penny! I still use my existing home theater for movies as that has surround sound etc. I use this in my office which is a smaller room about 20 X 20 feet. The UDA-1 just fit perfectly on a shelf and the speakers are hidden away on the floor.Other reviewers have indicated that the output per channel is only 23W and not adequate, however at least for this size room you would not be able to put it on max volume for long as you would go deaf. The CS-SS5 does handle the max output from the UDA-1 without and shaking, rambling or other complaints and the sound does not get distorted either.You need to use speakers that support Hi Res Audio and the Sony SS-CS5 seems to work well with it. Someday I will replace my Harmon Kardon home theater speakers with equivalent Sony Speakers of the same family – basically SS-CS3 (Floor standing Speaker) SS-CS8 (Center) and SA-CS9 (Sub-Woofer).The quality of sound does not change no matter what type of music it is – Tried Mozart – “Marriage Of Figaro Overture” it’s like you are in front of the orchestra! Unbelievable! All this from a couple of book shelf speakers - 12 inches tall and 6 inches wide and the tiny UDA-1.The UDA-1 comes with a tiny remote control that lets you choose the input, volume, mute and DSEE. This is handy in case it is sitting on a shelf and is not close to you as per in my case. The UDA-1 also turns off automatically after a while if not used (Unlike regular Amplifiers).I figure someday Hi Res Audio would become the norm and more affordable but until then this is worth every penny and I would highly recommend it.