# Micca OriGen USB audio DAC and Preamp - 192khz/24bit and DSD64 - NEW?



## bwcgrx

While browsing through Amazon I recently found the following portable DAC/Headphone Amp for $99.99
  
 [size=24.57px]Micca OriGen USB audio DAC and Preamp[/size]
  

 Has 3.5mm and 6.35mm headphone jacks, gain switch and line output.
  
 Supports up to 192khz/24bit and DSD64
  
 Key Components
  
 - VIA VT1736 USB 2.0 High Speed 480Mbps audio controller
 - Cirrus Logic CS4392 Stereo D/A Converter
 - JRC NJM4556 operational amplifier
  
 Other than the manufacturer's website "Micca Electronics"I've not found any other information about this little DAC/Amp.
  
 I decided to purchase it and give it a try as it has intrigued me.  It may make a good DAC/AMP for bedside or office desk use.
 Given the op amp I don't think it will drive high ohm cans very loudly however the line out may be good for feeding an O2 amp like the one I recently purchased on Massdrop.
  
 I wonder if any Head-fiers would know more about this little unit and it's potential performance?


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## mohdkhamsya

Any updates on this? Saw it on Amazon too and was wondering how it sounds.


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## bwcgrx

mohdkhamsya said:


> Any updates on this? Saw it on Amazon too and was wondering how it sounds.


 
  
 I received the Micca OriGen on Saturday.  Configuration of the driver was relatively easy. One caveat regarding setup of the VIA ASIO driver in Foobar there is no 64bit driver so I had to uncheck use 64bit driver before the VIA ASIO driver would show up in selection panel.  Once I discovered that I was off and running.
  
 The OriGen has a weighty steel chassis with machined aluminum top plate and combo power/volume knob.  This reflects a higher than average build quality, it looks and feels good as you would expect when paying just barely south of a Benjamin.
  
 As a headphone amp this device is for the less power demanding headphone crowd, sub 40 ohms.  It will drive higher impedance cans however the you will find yourself cranking it to the max on highest gain to get appreciable volume.  In addition those more demanding headphones, I used HE-400, DT 880 250, and HD--600, sound more compressed and closed-in with the headphone out on the OriGen.  With headphones of lower demand however the OriGen is quite capable of producing a rather nicely detailed and relatively smooth sound.  The line out provided a much more spacious and a markedly less congested sound when fed to a Schiit Magni 2.  For the record, my music collection is made up of primarily 16/44.1k FLAC with some higher res PCM FLAC and DSD 64 ISO files.
  
 In comparison to my two other USB DACS, I find the OriGen less warm yet slightly more detailed in the midrange than my ifi idsd nano.  The nano still wins in bass and treble clarity though.  The OriGen is not as detailed as the Geek Out 450 in my estimation.  I think the Geek Out's class A amplification gives it much better imaging overall vs the OriGen or the nano for that matter.  I do find the Sabre DACs to be quite revealing and spacious and I've yet to be too turned off by any edginess that they are often credited with.
  
 This is a quite capable and rather compact semi portable DAC/AMP combo and is competitive  to others I've heard at this price point and feature set.  It does really fall into a sort of in between category as it is neither very portable being on the large size of portable and it is not really powerful enough as a headphone amp with more demanding headphones.  I plan to use it with my Brix PC on my bed side table.  I will probably add the $70 O2 amp I purchased on Massdrop on a recent drop once it arrives.  This would then allow me to drive more demanding headphone at this listening station.
  
 I may follow up with further impressions as I have more time to listen to the OriGen.
  
 Interestingly enough, I found a link to the same DAC/AMP under the Syba Sonic brand name minus the gain switch here. LINK
  
 They have some pictures of the internals.  These layout and parts are nearly identical to the OriGen based upon my own investigation inside.


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## mohdkhamsya

bwcgrx said:


> I received the Micca OriGen on Saturday.  Configuration of the driver was relatively easy. One caveat regarding setup of the VIA ASIO driver in Foobar there is no 64bit driver so I had to uncheck use 64bit driver before the VIA ASIO driver would show up in selection panel.  Once I discovered that I was off and running.
> 
> The OriGen has a weighty steel chassis with machined aluminum top plate and combo power/volume knob.  This reflects a higher than average build quality, it looks and feels good as you would expect when paying just barely south of a Benjamin.
> 
> ...




Thanks for the extremely detailed review. So here's where I am right now. I have my portable setup of the dx90 and asg1+ and my home setup consisting of the he560 and gustard h10. I use the dx90 as the source at home too. But I'm thinking of installing a 2.0 desktop system with my PC. This is why I find the origen enticing. It's a compact solution. However, I'm also considering selling my gustard and getting an all in one solution like the audio gd nfb29 which will have sufficient power to drive my 560s and has an rca out for the powered speakers. He other thing i could do is to get a dedicated dac with two paira of rca outs. Decisions decisions.

Edit: The Sybasonic and Origen are indeed identical!


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## mohdkhamsya

I got this for myself and paired it with a micca pb42x powered speakers (Amazon had this deal where you can buy them together for 200). I really dig the form factor. Easy to adjust the volume (it's got a pre amp out). Sounds great too, especially with the speakers. The headphone outs are decent. Very neutral with minimal coloration. Staging and imaging are decent too, although nowhere near my dx90. Solid piece of hardware for less than a hundred bucks. My only gripe is that the RCA outs don't cut out when you plug in your earphones/headphones. Oh and its got native DSD! Quite cool although I don't usually listen to DSD tracks.


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## maul

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## maul

double post


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## bwcgrx

maul said:


> Sub 40 ohms, what? It says 16 - 600 on the site, what are you basing this on? I'm not an impedance expert, but I bought this to power more than a fricken 40 ohm headphone - please enlighten me.




Okay, let me clarify. Yes this device will power headphones up to 300 ohm with a level of sound that exceeds most motherboard headphone outs. I just found that I was unable to get authoritative levels with by HD-600 or DT880s. In my opinion you would need a very quiet listening environment for this amp to provide satisfying sound levels with higher impedance open headphones. Having said that I suspect that I do enjoy an overall higher sound level than some. Interestingly enough I found that the Micca's seemed to have a more difficult time producing satisfying sound levels with the K7xx than the previously mentioned headphones. It will probably work well for most headphones 250 ohms or less. As I understand it the K7xx has a high current demand which may explain the Micca's difficulty driving it. Ultimately I would not expect Magni or Objective O2 performance.


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## maul

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## Bryan S

bwcgrx said:


> Okay, let me clarify. Yes this device will power headphones up to 300 ohm with a level of sound that exceeds most motherboard headphone outs. I just found that I was unable to get authoritative levels with by HD-600 or DT880s. In my opinion you would need a very quiet listening environment for this amp to provide satisfying sound levels with higher impedance open headphones. Having said that I suspect that I do enjoy an overall higher sound level than some. Interestingly enough I found that the Micca's seemed to have a more difficult time producing satisfying sound levels with the K7xx than the previously mentioned headphones. It will probably work well for most headphones 250 ohms or less. As I understand it the K7xx has a high current demand which may explain the Micca's difficulty driving it. Ultimately I would not expect Magni or Objective O2 performance.


 
 Would you also lump the K702 in with the K7xx as far as being able to use this Amp/Dac. I am getting the K702's and was looking at this one. I was also looking at the E10k, but this seemed better.


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## mythiKI

Hey I was wondering if you thought this would be a good entry level amp/dac for sennheisers. I was looking at this or the FiiO e10k


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## maul

mythiki said:


> Hey I was wondering if you thought this would be a good entry level amp/dac for sennheisers. I was looking at this or the FiiO e10k


 
  
 Which Sennheisers? I definitely prefer it over the e10k (I've tried both), but if you're talking about the 600s it might not be enough.


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## mythiKI

I have the HD 518 and the G4ME ZEROs, I really just want a low priced amp/dac so that I have one if I decide to get a higher quality headset


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## Davidtech

Get this or the Shiit Fulla for the Sennheizer HD 598 ?


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## johnmac145

Anyone know if this will make an appearance in the UK? Also, does it need drivers?


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## BloodyPenguin

johnmac145 said:


> Anyone know if this will make an appearance in the UK? Also, does it need drivers?


 

 It does need drivers.  I've been using the OriGen for the last few weeks.  I should have my full review of it up on the forums soon.
  
  
 Teaser pic:
  

  
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## doommastr

bloodypenguin said:


> It does need drivers.  I've been using the OriGen for the last few weeks.  I should have my full review of it up on the forums soon.
> 
> 
> Teaser pic:
> ...




Looking forward to your impressions. I'm also in the market for something this little guy might provide, also considering the fiio e10k and someone mentioned the schiit fulla (was considering the magni/modi but decided I'm entirely content with my 598se which already does well with onboard).


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## BloodyPenguin

doommastr said:


> Looking forward to your impressions. I'm also in the market for something this little guy might provide, also considering the fiio e10k and someone mentioned the schiit fulla (was considering the magni/modi but decided I'm entirely content with my 598se which already does well with onboard).


 
  
 My full review can be found here:  http://www.head-fi.org/products/micca-origen-high-resolution-usb-dac-and-preamplifier-24-bit-192khz-pcm-and-64x-dsd/reviews/14883
  
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## jcddc

I know this is a semi-necro but I couldn't find another thread to post this in.  However, I wanted to let everyone know about my good experience with the Micca CS.  I've been using my Micca Origen for a couple of months now.  I'm not sure if it came missing a rubber footpeg or it fell off.  So, I contacted Micca CS about the issue.  They asked what my order number was and then promptly sent a set of 4 in the mail to me for free no questions asked.  Big +1 to Micca.  
  
 As for the amp/dac itself, It has powered and sounded great on everything I've plugged into it.  M50x, DT770 250 ohm, ATH MSR7, Fidelio x2, B&W P3, and now Mad Dog v3.2.  I also use the line out on the back to my logitech 2.1 desktop setup.  Great little affordable piece with an awesome form factor.


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## hiker2

Hi...firstly thanks a lot for such immensely helpful product explanation. A lot of doubts cleared.


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## AdvanTech

bwcgrx said it doesn't have enough power to drive a Sennheiser HD 600 to authoritative levels, yet I find that with the gain switch at 0dB, it's a little on the loud side with the knob at about 50%. It becomes painful at 75%. Power seems to be more than enough.


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## bwcgrx

advantech said:


> bwcgrx said it doesn't have enough power to drive a Sennheiser HD 600 to authoritative levels, yet I find that with the gain switch at 0dB, it's a little on the loud side with the knob at about 50%. It becomes painful at 75%. Power seems to be more than enough.


 
  
 I've read where others were quite satisfied with the output of the OriGen with HD600s and other 300ohm range headphones.  Maybe I just got a problematic unit or I just like to listen at louder levels than others.  I also found the OriGen to occasionally be a little on the sibilant side with a somewhat bright and occasionally harsh treble quality.  Returned mine and I'm now living with an Aune S16 for DAC duties and Gustard H10 amp and love the combo.  This pair has ultimately set me back far more than the OriGen though.  If you are satisfied with the sound and output capability of the OriGen that is fantastic as you'll save way more money than most of us here.  As someone else mentioned in a previous post, the OriGen has a fantastic form factor and small footprint.  Great unit which just did not work out for me.


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## wondroushippo

Anyone try the Plus version of this? http://www.amazon.com/Micca-OriGen-High-Resolution-Preamplifier/dp/B01BURJVOC

Believe it moves the headphone/preamp switch to the front, also the output impedance is published at 0.5 ohms. Wonder if this has a black background for IEMs...


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## Davidtech

Can anyone compair the sound of this Dac vs say the Schiit Fulla or Dragonfly ?


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## evmedievalol

i would love to see some side by side pics of this DAC and Macpro or other laptops.


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## awi5951

These get 20 percent louder than the fiio Q1 not sure how the Q1 stands up to the fiio K10  so choose what you want.


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## Dre Williams

The MIcca origen does get loud enough when it has a good install the drivers are buggy. And the usb cable can be bad as well. I have noticed on a fresh install or if i change USB ports the sound of the micca increases alot. I find in music apps or movies and games the micca is too loud with the K7xx at 75 percent on  high gain. I contacted them about this issue you should try to reinstall the drivers or move USB ports or change your cable. Also the software defaults to 50 percent volume in the MIcca software you have to turn it up.


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## Dre Williams

Also i have noticed that the MIcca software goes nuts in a usb 3.0 slot and freezes my pc sound.  When its in a usb 2.0 slot i never have issues.


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## MrSpaniard

I would really like to know how I can get this to Europe, The Netherlands to be exact.

 Been looking all over, but can hardly find them anywhere but Amazon.
 And Amazon hates Europeans for some reason 
  
 Anything remotely interesting is not able to ship to Europe.
  
 If anybody knows of a way to get it here without paying twice as much, yes please.
 If somebody knows a product that is similar to this in sound quality and features as well as price, I'm very much interested.
  
 What I really like about this product and am looking for is:
 - 3,5 mm as well as 1/4 inch output jacks for headphones.
 - DAC and AMP combo
 - Nice volume knob.
  
 I would like to keep the LineOut, but it's not to big of a problem if that would be missing.
 But in all honesty, the Micca Origen + is exactly everything I'm looking for.
  
 Damn you Amazon!! Stop teasing me with all that nice stuff you're not willing to ship to me anyway :O


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## MrMan

I saw quite a few people on amazon having problems installing this on windows 10. I did a video showing how to properly install the drivers.


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