That perceived "harshness" with the other DACs despite them sounding warmer is simply distortion.

An honest and subjective review.
Remember as far as objective data is concerned, this DAC is supposed to sound IDENTICAL to the SanDisk Clip+, so I'll take your word over theirs even if it looks like you got carried away with the revealing-ness.

"this DAC is supposed to sound IDENTICAL to the SanDisk Clip+"
Correction, it's supposed to sound identical to the Clip+, according to kiteki. In fact, this is the first (and only) time I've heard this comparison made.

It's just so bizarre that this harshness in bad tracks occurs on now 5 (good) cd players, several amps and 2 other computer DACs. On nearly all my headphones. This review is basically all over the place, so sorry about that. It's nearly impossible to write a review on a DAC that basically is supposed to NOT have it's own signature. I guess I can only compare it to what else i've heard.
What I will do is rip these harsh tracks to FLAC and try them on my clip+. I bet they'll sound similar to the ODAC when it comes to it's flat sound signature. Obviously the ODAC is like a clip+ on steroids and has a larger soundstage etc. Clip+ might even be warmer (sounding). The treble on the ODAC just seems smoother than everything else i've ever heard. Not a complaint. IMO all these DACs that measure perfectly flat never sound the same. Technically the E10 should sound similar to the ODAC right? This hasn't been the case.

Good review , well done nwavguy

There's a whole lot more than FR to determine how a dac will sound. Read up on it.

^ yeah, I know. It's just too bad most people think that if a DAC measures flat they're all "technically" sounding the same. I read once you can't tell the difference between the E10 and the ODAC in a blind test. Such nonsense.

Dude I meant measurements, Distortion, phase,channel balance, noise floor, output level (volts), all can be measured and can make a potentially huge difference in sound, especially distortion, The ODAC measures much better in every aspect to the E10, they obviously won't sound the same, but if they did measure almost the same as each other (which they don't) then they would be indistinguishable.

When you mentioned that they measure "flat" you're referring only to the frequency response, that's what I meant when I said there's alot more to it.

you know, i've read an awful lot about how well the odac (and o2 for that matter) synergize with sennhieser cans. You just seem to be reiterating that fact. And just out of curiousity what is this "budget amp" you speak of? B/c if it plays well with everything i wanna piece of that action.

wiinippongamer, even considering distortion, phase, channel balance, noise floor, output level (into an amp), this DAC is supposed to sound the same as the Clip+, according to the designer, since the Clip+ has supposedly already surpassed the audibile limits within all of those parameters.

p.s. you missed square wave response and impulse response. It's true that's not visibile in a flat FR, for example the Fiio E6 may measure flat in FR, but it can't create a nice square-wave, and it's noisy, so you're right there.

Nothing personal against you, kiteki, and I honestly mean that, but I can't say I agree that the ODAC is "supposed to sound the same as the Clip+, according to the designer," not unless it's spoken (written) straight from the horse's (designers) mouth, which I've yet to see. Being that I own both, the LAST impression I want to put on someone is that the two sound the same. Anyhow, carry on...

It IS from the horses mouth that they are equally transparent (via dScope data) = they sound the same. You misread "supposed to".
I haven't compared them myself, just sayin'.

you know what the sound of the ODAC really reminds me of? The old PS1 SCPH-1001 (one with RCA jacks). No joke. You know all those harsh/fatiguing tracks I heard on 5 of my CD players and some computer DACs? Well, they're not so bad on the SCPH-1001, just like the ODAC. The 1001 is also no detail monster and kind of warm sounding. I guess they call it "musical" but very accurate. Maybe it's no lie that the PS1 really IS actually as good as they say.
I don't believe in this thing about ODAC having the best synergy with the Sennheisers. Sounds equally as good with everything. The amp i'm talking about is the Headroom Micro Amp. Regular desktop amp and i've yet to try anything it doesn't work well with (unlike my old Asgard). It's a perfect match for the ODAC. I'm now convinced it's pretty transparent and has no coloration of it's own (that I can hear). I'll compare it to the O2 just to know for sure since i'm looking for an E9 replacement. Doesn't matter to me really.

So you're saying we should buy a $25 PlayStation 1 for equal sound performance / quality to the ODAC and get a free DVD player and videogames?

Yes. Go do that right now! Have you read up on the PS1 1001? There's some radical claims about that SCPH-1001(version with RCA jacks). Not sure if it's really as good as they say it is. Sounds pretty good and i'll leave it at that. Both are just really smooth and musical sounding to my ears. None of that harsh treble like on my other CD players. Yes, from now on i'm going to call the ODAC warm and musical just to annoy people.
NOTE: sorry, the PS1 is CD only. I keep forgetting how old it is. It came out in 1995! Hard to believe. I still remember how when it came out everyone hated Sony because it required RCA cables which very few people had at the time!

Science guy here - re the last paragraph. The output of the ODAC has a fairly large capacitor to ground right on the output. Most of the difference between cables is due to capacitance (IMHO). This interacts with the output impedance of the DAC (or whatever) and can upset the output buffer to some extent. In the ODAC the capacitor swamps the cable capacitance in most cases so the cables all sound the same.