Prequel

There are many DAC Headphones amp combo on the market now. The famous ones should be ZERO DAC, Compass DAC and the smaller ibasso. The Compass offers fabulous sound quality but comes with a price, while ibasso offers the portability at somewhat similar price range. Both are great products, but seems like it is always a tradeoff between size and sound quality. You can only have one of them.

For the price reason, ZERO DAC became the all time favorite for such DAC headphones amp set up. Priced lower than USD200, the ZERO provides fairly good performance but housed in bulky and flimsy chassis. That is something I dislike about ZERO, thus I am hunting for more similar product on the market.

First thought that came into my mind was: all 3 products mentioned above are Chinese brand; I should continue to search in the Land of Dragon for some reasons: The products are priced too high for Chinese local consumption, the ability for other Chinese brands to copy, the technology used in the products are not unique to one company. There should be more similar products undiscovered by foreigners, as the Chinese are beginning to be like the Japanese, local consumption is all it takes to feed a company.

Introduction

Thus my journey began, and true enough, I have found a few great DAC AMP combos, and will do a series of sharing about them. My last review was the Compass/ZERO’s rival, the USB Mini DAC. Now, I am going to introduce a low cost option, the HA INFO NG 27 USB DAC + Headphones Amp.

The NG27 is based on a very simple and trust-worthy design. It is as if the combination of Alien DAC and META42 amp. The DAC section of NG27 actually implemented in the simplest way to get the PCM2702 working; purist concept. The amplifier section is very similar to the META amp, using opamp to amplify the audio signal and buffer to supply the current to drive the headphones. The NG27 uses opa2134 and BUF634.

In my opinion and experience in audio DIY, simple circuitry sounds best with exotic components, because only those are only few parts that affect the sound signal. With this reason, I threw away the opa2134 and replace it with dual opa627 (the opamp and buffers are user replaceable).

Build Quality

Although it does not feature the thick brush aluminum faceplate as the Mini USB DAC, the NG27 definitely not shy in term of sturdiness as it is constructed using fairly thick aluminum alloy. The black paint is done professionally, and it does not look or feel cheap, or even as good as the ibasso’s.

The connectors both at the front or back are of high quality, tight and grip the connector well. The headphone jack is a clone neutrik jack. Although it is not as good as the real thing, it is definitely much better than normal headphone jacks.

The PCB is populated with mostly audio grade components, the nichicon and WIMA audio grade capacitors.

The Sound

(The tested unit is using best audio opamp opa627)

First impression after 10 hours burn-in:

Test track: Fields of Gold by Emi Fujita, PCM WAV format, uncompressed.

The texture of the sound is good, very good; “full body” and warm, delivered to the eardrums with weight. I have never heard Emi’s voice in real, but I heard this track on speaker set up before, gosh, it has those “British sound”, warm mids. Taste like thick, dark coffee. (Something which I am not very used to, I like Jap sound) The amplifier is not as powerful as the Mini’s, and less dynamic, but nevertheless still sound big thanks to the opa627.

Sound Imaging:

Test track: March F The King of Laois by the Chieftains, PCM WAV format, uncompressed.

Live recording is always the best for sound imaging test. The track started with a round of applause, and due to rich lows and lower mids, the clapping sounds real. Next, the soundstage is ok, not very wide, sounds like in a theater or a hall, definitely not stadium. Throughout the track, the Chieftains are crazy and shout here and there, “ohh” here and “woh” there. That is the best time to catch the positioning. Instrument separation is good; I can hear the violin, the pipes, and the drums in rather accurate positioning and depth. However, compared to the Mini USB DAC, the NG27 still lose out in the soundstage and airiness.

Sound Detail:

Test track: Barrio san Miguel [Bulerias] in Guno D’Auri, PCM WAV format, uncompressed.

This track is a flamenco kind of guitar music, coupled with percussions. The plucking of strings could be heard, but not very clear as it is overwhelmed by the rich guitar sound itself. The drums and percussions too, not much reverb could be heard, the drum and percussion itself already slam hard, and cover those detailed. Overall, musicality is very good, without those details, it might make music listening less fatiguing and more enjoyable.

Conclusion:

Overall a very good value for money piece, it is definitely a good buy for entry level PC HiFi enthusiasts. The NG27 comes with another function which is not tested yet; it accepts analog line in and can function as standalone headphone amplifier. Compared to the USB Mini DAC, I would say it is at least 70% to 80% as good.

When i get this DAC from huangyong, i am still his customer, we don't have any relationship in business. During that time, i am looking for a DAC for my headphone as my Asus U1 can't really serve me well as a headphone amplifier. This DAC do attract my attention after i read huangyong review. I am tight in budget in get buy a new DAC and cant afford to get those DAC price at Rm500++. This NG27 do really fit my bill at the moment. Initially i am still not confident in this DAC as i do always think that quality stuff do not come with cheap price.

After i chat with Huangyong and from his explanation, i decided to take the risk. When i get this item and it is really ugly in my eye compare to my U1. However when i hold the DAC in hand, it will be another story. The build quality is top notch compare to those china cheapo dac. It feels so good and great until you can forgive its stupid and ugly design. All the connector is so sturdy and give you a impression that it will last you a long long time.

First of all, i pair it with my S530D, compare to U1, this NG27 definitely do a better job. The mid become much more smoother and the sound is become thicker. The harshness of high in S530D is definitely reduce significantly and make the music can be listen for longer period. The clarity and detail, soundstage also better than the U1. The bass become tighter and punchier also.

After this, i pair it with my pk3, the amplified effect is much more significant in earphone compare to speaker. The sounds become forward a bit and the wider soundstage by the NG27 can be easily detected in this small earbud. Besides that, the bass become more "ummph" with better quality. i can listen some details that i can't listen previously when i pair the pk3 with the E5 and U1.

I am using this since july and the unit still serve me well daily (i use it as my daily soundcard for my desktop). There will be no quality issues in this NG27.

The cons that i found with this DAC is that, it is not suitable for portable and not convenient to carry around. There are no internal battery and pouch for it. However, the great sounding do much more than enough to ask me forgive it about this. Since everyone of us will put the sounds quality in the first place instead of portability right?