This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII portable battery operated DAC and headphone amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $239/$269 depending on op-amp chosen. I believe I have the latter with AD8620 based on measurements.
The unit sports a ton of connectivity for the class:
You can select whether it charges from USB or runs from battery. I don't think it has an ADC so not sure what the 3.5mm analog input does (just mix to headphone?).
Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII Measurements
I set the output to high gain in order to achieve 2 volt output:
As you see, my measurements exceed the specs yet, overall performance doesn't even reach 16 bit level. Distortion is not bad at < =100 dB but noise is an issue, at least with high gain:
The low gain runs at 0 dB/no gain so is helped a lot to get competitive performance. High gain though is very much lacking.
Frequency response is good:
Multitone is not:
I was surprised to see so little power output, barely exceeding lower end dongles:
Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII Listening Tests
I figured the unit would struggle with Dan Clark E3 and struggle it did. You could hardly hear anything at low gain. With high gain, you got modest levels before distortion set in.
With higher impedance Sennheiser HD-650, something just didn't sound right to me. I cranked it up a bit more and the unit start to stutter. Only a power cycle restored smooth playback.
Overall, very disappointing subjective performance.
Conclusions
I was excited to test the UHA-6S.MKII given the battery supply and extensive connectivity plus nice package/controls. Sadly, neither subjective or objective performance is there. There is just too little output power/voltage (latter needed for high impedance headphones). I expect to see five times more power than what it produces.
Needless to say I can't recommend the Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The unit sports a ton of connectivity for the class:
You can select whether it charges from USB or runs from battery. I don't think it has an ADC so not sure what the 3.5mm analog input does (just mix to headphone?).
Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII Measurements
I set the output to high gain in order to achieve 2 volt output:
As you see, my measurements exceed the specs yet, overall performance doesn't even reach 16 bit level. Distortion is not bad at < =100 dB but noise is an issue, at least with high gain:
The low gain runs at 0 dB/no gain so is helped a lot to get competitive performance. High gain though is very much lacking.
Frequency response is good:
Multitone is not:
I was surprised to see so little power output, barely exceeding lower end dongles:
Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII Listening Tests
I figured the unit would struggle with Dan Clark E3 and struggle it did. You could hardly hear anything at low gain. With high gain, you got modest levels before distortion set in.
With higher impedance Sennheiser HD-650, something just didn't sound right to me. I cranked it up a bit more and the unit start to stutter. Only a power cycle restored smooth playback.
Overall, very disappointing subjective performance.
Conclusions
I was excited to test the UHA-6S.MKII given the battery supply and extensive connectivity plus nice package/controls. Sadly, neither subjective or objective performance is there. There is just too little output power/voltage (latter needed for high impedance headphones). I expect to see five times more power than what it produces.
Needless to say I can't recommend the Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
