Douk Audio U2 PRO

Prior to purchasing this model, I was not aware that such an accessory even existed. I was having problems with noise and other factors with the USB input running from my desktop PC to my FX-Audio DAC X6 DAC unit. I had almost given up on it when I came across this Douk Audio U2 Pro advertisement on Amazon. It features a much higher conversion rate than my FX-Audio DAC. My FX Audio DAC had a top conversion rate of 24 Bit-192 kHz, whereas this Douk Audio U2 Pro USB to Digital interface has a top conversion rate of 32 Bit-384 kHz. After ordering it, I connected it by plugging it into my USB input on my PC, and then running a Digital Coax cable from the U2 Pro to my FX Audio DAC. The result - I was absolutely delighted in the sound transformation. Any noise was completely removed - absolute silence now - but more so, the sound reproduction qualities improved substantially. The improvements were substantial enough that it was discernible immediately with a warmer, less digital tonality, yet the music was very dynamic. So for folks who might be having USB issues on their PC, placing an item such as this U2 in the sound path between your PC/Lap-Top (connected via USB) and a DAC or amp (running either an optical or digital coax cable from the U2), you might be in heaven. Douk also makes a less expensive version known as just the U2. That particular model has a conversion rate of 24 Bit-192 kHz. Either way, both of the Douk models are inexpensive, yet they really punch far above their weight, considering what they do. SMSL also makes a smaller one with a 24 Bit-192 kHz conversion rate. Again, I was not prepared for the wonderful audio qualities I began experiencing once I inserted this device in my path between a PC and my DAC. There are so many different ways that you could connect this device - although you must remember that the device must plug into a USB input on whatever you are using as a source, and then you have a choice of running either an optical cord or a digital coax cord to whatever input device you select (DAC, Preamp, Receiver, Amp, etc.). I'm surprised that not more companies make devices such as this (at a reasonable price, that is). I don't know what else I can add here. These wonderful devices (2 of them made by Douk) may (can) solve many an issue involving with USB inputs on various devices. And for the small amount of money you expend, the results far overshadow the small amount of cash you may have expended. As is always the case, personal reviews are subjective. Your mileage may obviously vary. For me, this U2 Pro (and I also purchased the lesser expensive U2) made a huge improvement.

In my never-ending journey for better sounding music in my system I bought this little box to put between a ROON Nucleus music server and an Audio GD R8 MK2 DAC. The dac has an i2s input which is said to have better sound than its usb input. The Nucleus, like many servers, is limited to usb output and doesn't have an i2s output. The sound through the usb input of the A-GD is excellent, but I wanted to see if the i2s offered anything better. For the relatively little cost of this Douk Audio U2 PRO XMOS XU208 Digital Interface DDC it was worth the price of admission for me. It proved well worth the cost.. It improved the soundstage, both in depth and width and in the exact placement of the musicians within that soundstage. To the audiophile's consternation, the i2s pin configurations differ from one company to another. The A-GD fortunately uses the PS Audio configuration which is what this Douk Audio U2 PRO XMOS XU208 Digital Interface also uses, but please refer to your equipment manuals to check for compatibility. Many DAC manufactures have adopted the PS Audio pi2s pin configuration as their standard, but not all. I had purchased another chinese-made DDC from Tenaelay on EBay which flipped the + and - output which put my speakers out of phase and caused a muddling of the soundstage- precisely the opposite of this Douk box. As with everything in the audiophile world, YMMV. But if you are looking for a little extra from a DAC that has i2s input this is well worth the money IMHO.

I keep almost buying a dedicated streamer like the Cambridge CXN but then wonder if I can get similar results cheaper and more modular so when they come out with a new CX whatever next year with a much finer DAC I won’t be pouting about it. Anyway so far so good at first I tried their small DSD which worked ok but seemed kind of flaky and would just stop playing after hours and would need reset (unplugged and back in) still sounded good. Upgraded to this unit with a good USB C to USB B cable and an amazing wireworld coax audio to my NAD DAC / amp it sounds great and no issues with it just stopping at all. Source is M2 MacBook Pro running Qobuz and Tidal. I would definitely recommend it and although I do believe in cable and component burn in I can’t honestly be sure if this box itself has gotten better or the upgrade to the wireworld Coax but it really does sound incrementally better all the time.

I purchased this to connect my relatively high-end ASUS laptop to the I2S input of my Musician Pegasus DAC. The sound quality in the Pegasus was better to my ears with the I2s input than with the USB input, so I am very happy with this purchase. This is the cheapest D2D interface with I2S that I could find. Other (nicer) models cost $250 or more, so I felt this one, at $49.99, combined with Amazon's return policy, might be a winner. Minor Caveats: 1. I am using a Windows 10 laptop. For me, the unit is plug-and-play. However (because I read instructions), I downloaded the driver installation program from the URL listed on the product page. The driver installation resulted in the complete cessation of function of the unit. Annoyed, I uninstalled the driver software, and everything returned to normal. Lesson: Don't download the Windows driver software if your unit works without it! 2. The unit is listed as supporting up to 32/384k file formats. In my Windows system, the max is 24/384--this was also true with the non-functioning driver software installed. Maybe on a Mac or a Linux system. 32/384 may be supported, but not on my Windows laptop. 3. Be aware that if you are using this as an interface for I2S and Coaxial and/or Optical connections, the unit will output to multiple devices simultaneously. If you want to connect multiple devices and have output go to each device simultaneously, you are limited to setting the bit rate/sample rate to the highest of the attached devices, unless you want to keep changing the Windows settings. In my case, I wanted to connect both a Musician Pegasus DAC via I2S and a NuPrime IDA-8 via optical. The NuPrime IDA-8 is limited to 24/192 on optical, while the Musician Pegasus DAC can support much higher rates. So, if I set the Mini XMOS XU208 at 24/384 in Windows, there would be no acceptable output to the NuPrime--if I wanted both to get the signal without changing Windows settings, I would have had to set the device at 24/192 in Windows. So I decided to keep the the unit at 24/384 and use it only for the Musician Pegasus I2s; I disconnected the NuPrime IDA-8 from this unit and attached the NuPrime directly to my laptop via USB. If you are ok with these limitations, I definitely recommend this as the cheapest way to get an external I2S interface at the current time.

I use this device as a USB to Coax translation from a Linux server, connected to a McIntosh C2500 DAC. Often, at the start of a song, my McIntosh spit out white noise. It never did this before with other device. I tried the Optical out and got the same random bug. To me this unit is defective or a piece of junk. I have to hunt for another USB to Coax translation device.

This product sounds great, but unfortunately customer service from Douk is poor and no one answered my request regarding the inability to directly download xmos drivers from their site. I don't have a CD reader on my computer so the disk which came with the product could not easily be used. I was able to use asio4all but did not have the xmos drivers. After waiting a week for nobsound to reply, which they never did, and the site not working for downloading drivers,404 designation, I had to borrow a CD reader fom a relative to copy the drivers on the CD to a USB external drive. Only one worked, but at least I got an xmos driver. Product is good but getting it working properly should not be this hard. I would have given it 5 stars if the driver download site had worked and if customer service had responded to my email. No excuse for not responding to customers.

Basically, the understanding of our hearing is not really well understood, certainly not in the context of sound reproduction. Our ears are INCREDIBLY sensitive to timing and distortion (of any kind not just amplifier THD). With that said, keeping tight control of the timing and noise floor for the signal is key right up until the actual conversion. This little device here? While it only goes up to DSD256, it most certainly cleans up the signal and allows my DAC to really shine. Using the I2s output, things went from fantastic to HOLY SH1T. The mix becomes clearer and more defined, bass suddenly appears from the depths (of your speaker's capabilities, my in-room response is 18-20khz), imaging and soundstage coherence and spaciousness is increased. Now this is with and without HQPlayer in the mix. So, in general there is great improvement to be had especially IF YOUR DAC HAS A POOR USB IMPLEMENTATION. I tried this with my Topping DX7 Pro with class A op-amps (can't remember the damn name of the manufacturer) and my PS Audio Gaincell DAC. I can't say I notice any loud pops or clicks during rate changes. By the way, powering this thing with a battery pack makes things sound even better. Simply more of what I described above. Also of note, I run my amps, pre, and dac through a PS Audo P3 Power Regenerator, which absolutely makes a difference. If the system and environment is quiet, some of the more subtle improvements can be heard very distinctly (use of this thing in the first place, using a battery to power it). Bonus, go try out HQPlayer if you haven't already and see what properly filtered audio sounds like. If you have an existing PC with recent-ish tech (RTX accelerator a plus), you can improve the sound of your music collection immensely by running it through HQPlayer. You'll get more out of that with this device between your streamer and DAC. (then of course, go fix your room accoustics)... :)

Tried this product to see if I could send an I2S output from my Eversolo DMP A6 streamer/DAC (which does not have this capability) to a Denafrips Venus II 12th Anniversary DAC in order to see if I heard any improvement in sound quality compared to the USB output I was sending to the Venus II. All of the usual suspect You Tube audiophile reviewers have said they consider I2S the best digital input signal you can send to a DAC if it accepts it. So, thought I'd give it a try. Well after doing critical listening tests with the Douk after several hours of burn-in with tracks I'm familiar with, in the end, music sounded better with my Venus using USB than I2S from the Douk. The Douk did not sound bad. It's just the USB input sounded better (i.e. more airy and natural sound-stage, instruments also sparkled a bit more on the top end, etc.). The USB output from the A6 is quieter than a PC so this may account for the sound difference I heard. My result notwithstanding, still think the Douk is a very good value for the money. Just not sure it is an audiophile solution for those with highly-revealing DACs like the Venus. However as with all things with this wacky audiophile hobby...YMMV.

Hasta ahora a cumplido con mis expectativas muy fácil de usar, tardo un poco en llegar pero nada fuera de lo normal, lo recomiendo

思った以上に音質が悪いと感じたので、他の製品にした。

Very nice product and affordable. However, if somebody is looking for best quality, he should use the SPDI coaxial digital cable and not fiber optic, a mistake many people do. I am using Coaxial good quality cable and I am very happy with it.

Good unit but do not like the USB input on the front. Should have been at the back. Front connection provides no options for cable management.

Funciona muy bien, se siente de buena calidad pero no le doy 5 estrellas porque el primero que pedí llegó en una bolsa sin caja ni manuales ni accesorios además de no funcionar, estaba defectuoso. Supongo que era uno que había sido devuelto anteriormente. Lo devolví y lo volví a pedir. El segundo llegó en su caja con accesorios y todo bien, ha funcionado sin problemas. Por eso no le doy 5 estrellas.