TEAC NT-505 NT505 Worth Waiting for ?

[beancounter]

I have seen it "pre-listed" for 1,400 Euro.  Who knows if it's correct or what the price will be in the various markets.  I wouldn't count on it.

 

I don't need the network functionality of the NT, but I'm interested in the UD.

 

That said, UD-503 prices are down...  I confess, I'm a bottom feeder, I'll pick up the discontinued model on the cheap if it's a marginal difference.   Better DAC chip sure, but in the same series, I doubt that it's a game changer.  And Bluetooth - added complexity - and noise - for something I really don't want or need. 

 

 

[beancounter]

Very nice $ spread on the 503.   15 years ago, I could refurb and flip vintage gear to pay for my habit, but it got to the point around here where folks wanted auction site prices at garage sales - and people were buying it.

 

I caught on to Teac at AXPONA this year; room wasn't set up well for listening, but I could tell they had some gear with potential.

[beancounter]

1 hour ago, wgscott said:

There are some (somewhat disappointing) measurements on the NT-503 here.

 

Upsampling to DSD in particular looks quite problematic (consistent with my subjective impression).

 

No surprise on the upsampling to DSD; is there a DSD DAC in the price range that does it well?  I've limited listening experience, but I've never really liked upsampling in the DAC; just let it convert the signal with minimal processing and fuss. 

 

But then maybe I'm just a minimalist curmudgeon.

[beancounter]

Yuck. I just wish designers would get out of the way of the signal.

 

Call me a retro minimalist grouch, but less $ on gimmick bells & whistles, give me a decent chipset (seems easy these days) with the best possible power supply and analog output within budget, please.  What's so hard about that? Oh yeah, marketing.

 

It's disappointing, TEAC seemed to be on the right track with the dual mono thing.  I really like my UD-503 for the $ (tho I disable all the on-board upsampling).