[UntilThen]

^^ No improvement in sound with that power supply? 

 
Over the last 4 months I've been using the NAD d1050 mainly as a DAC to my tube amp Elise by Feliks Audio using Beyer T1 headphone. It's a really good combination. Love the sound. I tried the T1 direct into the d1050 and was pleasantly surprised that it sounded very good too. On it's own the amp of the d1050 is very capable and produce a musical tone with the T1. However I prefer what the tube amp gives me. It has more 'body' to the music and the bass has more presence as well as the high notes.
 
It's not a fair comparison though. I think the d1050 amp/dac holds up very well. 

 

[shatrukov]

The power supply nad 1050 very well cope with their responsibilities. Another power supply with a larger capacity or a larger capacity is not needed. My opinion.

 

[nicholars]

Yes I trust that NAD used a suitable power supply, they are a good audio manufacturer and I doubt they would overlook that, or use a power supply that makes the performance worse.

 

[Bruch]

It's a question of allocating limited resources. You are correct Shatrukov, the supplied power supply does cope very well with its responsibilities and you are correct Nicholars, NAD did not use a power supply that makes the performance worse. But NAD are a business and businesses have to make a profit. They are selling an amazing DAC for $500 and that means that the cloth has to be cut.
 
If the NAD engineers / salesmen decided to cut the cloth at the power supply I'm not complaining at all. That just means that they have given us consumers an opportunity to upgrade the DAC very easily.
 
It's not a question of capacity, but rather linearity. The OEM power supply is a rectifier whereas after-market power supplies are traditional transformers.
 
If I were looking to spend $750 on a DAC I wouldn't necessarily buy a D1050 with upgraded power supply (although I might - it really is that good). But already owning a D1050 and looking for an upgrade, the power supply makes a relatively cheap and effective upgrade compared to selling second hand and buying something 'better'.

 

[Skyfall]

Hey all,
 
Came across this unit little while ago on the forum here and it seems like the combo has a tremendous value of the asking price. I was considering Burson Conductor, Chord Mojo, or Schitt stack but in the end I chose to stay away from the head-fi Hypes and go back to major leading audio company like NAD .
 
The unit will be here in couple days and I'm excited to hear what it has to offer compared to my Hugo, Apogee Duet and DAPs that I have.
 
Cross my finger 

 

[nicholars]

  Hey all,
 
Came across this unit little while ago on the forum here and it seems like the combo has a tremendous value of the asking price. I was considering Burson Conductor, Chord Mojo, or Schitt stack but in the end I chose to stay away from the head-fi Hypes and go back to major leading audio company like NAD .
 
The unit will be here in couple days and I'm excited to hear what it has to offer compared to my Hugo, Apogee Duet and DAPs that I have.
 
Cross my finger 

 
Treble is very smooth on D1050, compared to others that are sibilant or harsh, midrange is good and bass is slightly pronounced which is fine because I like bass, good soundstage overall just very good dac/amp I would be surprised if you do not like it.

 

[Skyfall]

Great.
Sounds like my kind of sound. I'll be pairing them with HD700 and LCD X.

This review made me confidence to try this amp: http://headphone.guru/nad-d1050-review/

 

[Skyfall]

Got it, updated to the newest firmware, let it burn for an hour and here it goes:
 
The sound is on the warmer side of neutral with thick syrupy mids, thunderous bass but almost no details and a bit boomy, upper mids are really mild and highs are rolled off. However, it drives LCD X and HD700 really nice with very good authority and nice bottom ends, huge dynamics and soundstage but that's it. 
Sadly, I don't hear details, depth or layered sound I'm so used to with my other gears. It is also lacking the sense of space and air ambience. The feel like you're eating a huge bowl of pasta with no sauce but olive oil and salt, you get really full but tasteless. 
 
Overall, this unit shows excellent value between price and SQ only if you want to sit back and enjoy the music or movies. Audiophile ears need to go somewhere else.
 
The closest thing this one can get to is my Apogee Duet which is still two notches above with better clearer mids, detailed bass and better depth and layering overall.
My portables ie. Aune M2S+Duet on single ended leaves 1050 far...behind and on balance waaay...far.....behind 

 
 

 
Just my own impressions and opinion

 

[nicholars]

Hmm it is not THAT bad for detail... it just does not throw it in your face with overly bright and sharp treble... I think its a really nice dac / amp and the best out of what I have tried. Is it the last word in detail and resolution etc? No... but does it sound very good with everything and allow me to enjoy music? yes. All personal preference I guess, butI do not think it is a technically bad amp / dac at all, its just not bright or clinical sounding,

 

[nicholars]

Got any more impressions on the D1050? I am interested in your opinion... has the sound grown on you at all? Personally I think it is a really nice sounding dac / amp, it is not bright or mega detail but at the same time it sounds good with everything and is good in all the areas I find important, soundstage, punchy bass, good mids, smooth treble, low sibilance, decent detail, slightly rolled off upper mid and treble is perfect for me but maybe not for everyone. Are you using the Async USB?

 

[Orky261]

Just switched to a Geek Pulse Infinity v2.0 from D1050. For its price, it's a nice DAC but it's too laid back for me, sound stage and details are also quite disappointing compared to my new ones. Overall I have the same impression as Skyfall.

 

[Skyfall]

  Got any more impressions on the D1050? I am interested in your opinion... has the sound grown on you at all? Personally I think it is a really nice sounding dac / amp, it is not bright or mega detail but at the same time it sounds good with everything and is good in all the areas I find important, soundstage, punchy bass, good mids, smooth treble, low sibilance, decent detail, slightly rolled off upper mid and treble is perfect for me but maybe not for everyone. Are you using the Async USB?

 
Hi Nic,
 
I agree with you that this is a really nice sounding Dac/Amp at a very affordable range. It is a matter of preference,expectations and headphone pairings.
The sound is really mellow, dark and laid back, much less open and lively even to a average standard to my ear. This kind of character works better with brighter sounding headphones such as all Beyerdynamic series as I find them on the brighter side of neutral, Shure, HD 700/800, Grados and maybe LCD XC.
 
I have the very first batch of LCD X ( if you're familiar with Audeze sound) and they are warmer and a bit darker then the newer versions. I do love it but pairing it with NAD just does not work for me and the HD700 is okay.
 
But again, I think this unit was never meant to be an audiophile grade sounding system, merely a consumer grade. It doesn't have the bells and whistle that audiophiles are looking for, mainly details and the layered soundstage. Even current DAP now has all the details and everything else but yeah..less power and punch.
 
I wouldn't expect the sound to change that much even after more burn in so I have to let it go. But Hey, if it rocks your butt..oops I mean boat, then go for it. Haha.

 

[nicholars]

   
Hi Nic,
 
I agree with you that this is a really nice sounding Dac/Amp at a very affordable range. It is a matter of preference,expectations and headphone pairings.
The sound is really mellow, dark and laid back, much less open and lively even to a average standard to my ear. This kind of character works better with brighter sounding headphones such as all Beyerdynamic series as I find them on the brighter side of neutral, Shure, HD 700/800, Grados and maybe LCD XC.
 
I have the very first batch of LCD X ( if you're familiar with Audeze sound) and they are warmer and a bit darker then the newer versions. I do love it but pairing it with NAD just does not work for me and the HD700 is okay.
 
But again, I think this unit was never meant to be an audiophile grade sounding system, merely a consumer grade. It doesn't have the bells and whistle that audiophiles are looking for, mainly details and the layered soundstage. Even current DAP now has all the details and everything else but yeah..less power and punch.
 
I wouldn't expect the sound to change that much even after more burn in so I have to let it go. But Hey, if it rocks your butt..oops I mean boat, then go for it. Haha.

 
For example TH X00, which have quite bright treble, the D1050 smooths that out nicely. I don't know I have not tried loads of dacs, I have tried about 5 I think, but out of what I have used I like the D1050 best, combined with headphones that have some treble, eg. SRH 1540 and TH X00, both have moderately bright treble, but with the D1050 sound spot on to me.
 
But yes looking at the headphones you are using it with maybe it is noticeable I don't know as the best headphones I have used are TH X00, SRH 1540, HD650 etc. I have not used LCD or HD800 etc.

 

[Bruch]

I think that part of the reason for the inconsistent reviews is that there are so many variables in other parts of the chain.
 
I think that the DAC part of the D1050 is much better than the amp section. I output from the balanced XLR's into a separate headphone amp with very good results.
 
Also I'm not sure how the D1050 up-samples. I read somewhere that it didn't. I don't know if this is true or not but I upsample all audio to 24/192 using iZotope RX 4 so maybe that makes a difference.
 
Also as per my previous posts I upgraded the power supply which also made a noticeable improvement.
 
Elsewhere posters have said that they don't notice any difference with an upgraded power supply. That could be because of what they are listening for (eg are they listening for details and layers) or it could be because other elements in their audio chain are masking the improvements in the DAC. Of course there is the possibility that it's all just in my head!
 
The top and bottom is that I disagree that this unit is not an audiophile quality DAC. It is (or with a little care) can be made to be so.
 
I do agree that it is not an audiophile quality headphone amp.

 

[nicholars]

I think the headphone amp sounds really nice as long as you are using it within its limits. eg. low ohm headphones or not extremely hard to drive, I asked NAD and the specs they sent are pretty good, more powerful than a lot of headphone amps but not as much as some. With the headphones I have currently (both easy to drive and low impedance) it works well. But I am sure with more hungry headphones a dedicated amp would be better. I am happy with the sound of it and have tried approx 5 dacs so I have some references, but yes I am sure you can get better with some high end dedicated amp and dac combo, but then you are also looking at a lot more spendies and I am generally happy with it so do not feel the need to get something else, whereas with other dacs / amps I have used I have always had an urge to get something better, I like the fact it is a bit smooth and rolled off at the top because I do not like bright treble, harshness or sibilance, I also like darker sound with good lower mids and bass, so this is ideal (as with every other NAD product I have used), and combined with slightly bright / U shaped headphones like Th X00 and SRH 1540 it is a good balance.
 
Also what did you do to upgrade the PSU I am interested...