Chord Electronics is refreshing its bijou Chordette range, replacing the QuteHD DAC with the QuteEX – a 384kHz PCM/DSD 128 device compatible with high-resolution DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition) music files. The QuteEX is an upgraded version of Chord Electronics’ QuteHD and has been available alongside the QuteHD since the EX’s introduction in October, offering the option of decoding at up to 384kHz PCM and DSD 128 over USB, against the QuteHD’s 192kHz PCM and DSD 64.

The change is effective from 01st July and existing QuteHD can be upgraded at the factory for a modest £200 plus shipping, which represents the cost differential between the two products. Existing QuteHD owners should contact their local Chord retailer for further details.
The Qute EX builds on the original QuteHD and is a compact D/A convertor, eschewing off-the-shelf DAC chipsets in favour of a bespoke FPGA (programmable) circuit. Its ‘EX’ suffix, denotes its DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition) playback capability.
Its bespoke circuit design created by DAC technology guru Rob Watts and implemented by Chord’s engineering team.

Technical specifications

Harmonic distortion: 103 dBV
Signal-to-noise ratio: 115dBV
Dynamic range: 118dBV
Digital inputs:
1 x USB HD with DSD 128 decoding, 44.1 kHz to 384kHz PCM, 16-32-bit
1x Optical
1x Coaxial 44.1 kHz/384kHz-ready, 16-32-bit
Outputs: 2x RCA phono
Power supply: 12v 1A 2.1mm connector. Centre point positive 100V- 240V – 50/60Hz, 1A wall adapter supplied
Weight: 0.4kg
Dimensions: 160x70x40mm (WxHxD)

Price and availability
01st July 2014
Price: £1,195
Upgrade price from QuteHD to Qute EX: £200 (+ shipping)

I like Schiit’s attitude to their products and confess to using their entry level (£90 per box) Modi USB DAC and Magni headphone amp when listening none critically on my normal work desktop system. They’re made in the USA, well made, attractive and offer very good value for money to my mind, and despite their name they have a solid history in the audio world – Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat designed numerous well known products for Sumo before branching out on their own to launch Schiit. The entry level kit comes with a two year warranty, but the more expensive kit, like we’re looking at heer, comes with an impressive five year warranty. I also like their marketing spiel “Because you’re an audiophile does not have to mean “born with a stick up your ass””.

Here we have on test the Lyr 2 headphone amplifier and the Bifrost (with full blown USB 2 receiver) DAC which retail in the UK for £340 and £395. Both the units are substantially bigger than their entry level siblings, but still a good deal smaller than conventional hi-fi boxes and suitable for use on a desktop – they each measure 9 x 6 x 3.25 inches. All the bits and bobs in the boxes are surface mounted with the aim here being to keep prices down to affordable levels. The units are finished in brushed aluminium and look really rather nice I think.

Lyr 2

Lyr 2 is a high powered headphone amp offering up 6W into 32 ohms to 330mW into 600 making it suitable for just about any headphone you’d care to throw at it. In the box you get the attractive and distinctive Lyr 2 itself, a power cable, some little stick on feet and a pair of 6B7Zvalves – the Lyr 2 can use any 6Dj8, 6922, ECC88, 6N23P and 6Bz7 tubes so that tube rollers can play to their hearts content, though I decided to stick with the stock Russian tubes in the box. The Lyr 2 uses a “Dynamically Adaptive Output Stage” which the company says is a “current sensing adaptive output technology which allows the amplifier to dynamically adjust to the headphone load. The Primary benefits are essentially single-ended Class A output for high-impedence headphones, moving seamlessly to push-pull Class A and finally into Class AB as current needs increase”.

Set up is a simple case of inserting the valves, plugging in the IEC, turning the amp on and then connecting to a suitable source via the input RCAs. Also around the back is a pair of RCA outlets (turned off when you plug in headphones) allowing you to connect to a power amplifier of your choice. You also get a gain setting switch for efficient or less efficient headphones and an on/off toggle switch. Move round the front and you have an LED to let you know the unit is powered up, a volume pot, a quarter inch headphone jack… and that’s your lot.

The Lyr 2 has a few “upgrades” over its predecessor including a regulated 180V power supply for the valve stage, separate regulated power supplies for the current sources and DC Servo and regulated supplies for the DC heaters.

Bifrost

The USB input on this Bifrost uses C-Media CM6631 USB receiver interface and asynchronous data transfer of up to 24/192, but you also get the option to input via coaxial or optical. The D/A chip is an AKM4399 and rather than upsampling the Bifrost keeps samples at their original rate using adaptive master clock management system.

Round the back of the Bifrost you have the IEC power in, a power switch toggle, inputs for USB, Optical and SPDIF coaxial and a pair of RCA outputs to connect to your preamplifier. On the front you’ve got a button to cycle through the input selections and three LEDs to let you know what input you have selected.

Set up is a simple affair of downloading the Windows drivers, plugging in your input cables and connecting to your preamp/amp. J Player recognised the drivers and the Bifrost itself immediately and the whole set up procedure took no more than three or four minutes.

I’m moving over to a computer based system and so most of the listening will be done using the USB input using JRiver as the player, with some listening using the coaxial output from a pioneer DVD. Headphones used will be Audeze LCD –XC and when using the Lyr 2 as a preamplifier it will be fed into a TQ Iridium power amplifier.

Lyr 2 and Bifrost Paired Using Headphones

The first album off the virtual shelf was the excellent 2 Future 4 U by Amand Van Helden, a slab of funky beats and deep bass which comes across here as nicely timed with snappy beats and a coherency across the frequency ranges that was really rather pleasing. There’s punch to the sound but with no frequency range really dominating. I’ve been testing headphones and headphone amps out a lot over the last couple of months and it’s to the pairing’s credit that I didn’t really miss the reference VAD DAC and my reference headphone amplifier on this type of music. Switching to the Tresor 109 compilation it’s really hard to fault what the pairing is doing for just over £700. There’s good separation of instruments in the mix, which is thrown wide and is stable. The combination give a slightly more analogue feel to the sound than I’ve encountered with some headphone/DAC combos. The slight softening of the sound will appeal to a good few and make the transition from an analogue front end to an all digital set up much more acceptable. This is not to suggest that the sound here is mushy or compromised, it’s not, it’s just not got that slight harshness at the frequency extremes that you can sometimes get with some DACs.

On Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird track there is a good sense of the recording space with the natural reverb on the piano being large and natural sounding, another area that can leave some cheaper DACs found wanting. In this area the Bifrost/Lyr 2 combo really do rather well when compared to the reference DAC and headphone amp, though there is a feeling of there being more spatial information being apparent with the, it has to be said, much more expensive references. This is evident also on Gil Shaham’s 1930’s Violin Concertos where it’s pretty easy to get a good sense of the orchestra in front of you and the recording space, but not as deep an insight as I’m used to. Could I live with it…well I suppose it’s like anything isn’t it, if you’ve heard something you consider to be the best then it’s hard to move down the listening ladder, but for those with 700 quid to splash, then I reckon you’d be hard pushed to beat this duo when used with headphones.

On female vocals such as Kathryn William’s Crown Electric and Mary Black’s Best Of albums there’s a silky smooth quality that is really addictive. Again there’s a feeling of a slight softening, or warming to the sound in the mid frequencies that I really enjoyed with this kind of music. The combo will be popular with those that listen to the stereotypical audiophile recordings that prevail at shows, but that’s not to say that the Shiit coupling can’t rock out as proved on Pixie’s Doolittle where there’s enough power and oomph to satisfy, with that non-analytical feel to the sound that actually makes the combo really easy to listen to for long periods of time.

Lyr 2 in the Main Rig

Popping the Lyr 2 into the main system and using it as a preamplifier was a pleasant if not overwhelming experience, but then the pre it was replacing is the Coffman G1-A costing several thousands of dollars.

The soundstage is good, wide and deep with an ever so slight feeling that things are being slightly exaggerated. Instruments remain nice and stable and you get a good idea of where they are seated in the mix.

This is an easy to listen to preamplifier with the slight warming effect I noted previously and it has to be said that it performs very well for the money Schiit are asking you to pay. There’s reasonable amounts of detail coming through when compared to the reference and there’s good tonality…erring on the side of smoothness. In reality there’s little really to criticise, but the Lyr 2 is a little out of its depth here, leaving me with a feeling that I’m not connecting with the music in the same way I would normally with the main pre in place. Sadly I don’t have an entry level power amplifier in the house at the moment and so couldn’t test the Lyr 2 in a setting it may be reasonably used in, but given its performance so far I’d say it would be a very decent choice for the money.

Plug in the headphones and the output to the main amp is cut. There’s a sense that you are getting a reasonable deal of the VAD DAC’s character, with the Lyr doing that slight softening thing again, particularly in the mid-band. However, when compared to the Beyerdynamic A20 headphone amplifier costing around £400 and in the same system it performs well, with the Schiit perhaps being more to my taste when listening to cans.
The Lyr drove all the cans I threw at it to loud volumes and with the Audeze headphones plugged in I found that going anywhere past 9 o clock was too loud. I note here that the Lyr 2 does get very hot indeed and so this needs to be a consideration when placing it on your rack.

Bifrost in the Main Rig

Again this is a bit of an unfair ask given the pricepoint of the Schiit DAC, but all in all it performed very well indeed. On Madonna’s MDNA album there’s a terrific drive to the sound, particularly in the lower frequencies and the play between drum tracks and basslines. There’s a real feeling of pace and overall a big sound that is sure to bring a smile to your face.

On more laidback tracks such as The Rolling Stone’s Lady Jane, there’s a warmness of the sound overall, particularly mids, but the plucked strings still manage to sound fast, precise and sparkly. Actually there’s an addictiveness to this little DAC that belies its asking price. No, it doesn’t have the overall finesse and poise of our reference, but it certainly does a very admirable job of connecting you with the music.

I’ve mentioned warmness quite a bit in the review of these two products, but I’d suggest that the Lyr 2 is responsible for the majority of this. The DAC is pretty well defined with a relatively transparent sound. Soundstaging is pleasing and at the top end of the frequency scale hats sparkle nicely with good decay, whilst at the lower end of things there’s good weight and punch. Mids are an area that I’d say are a little on the warmer side of neutral, but as a whole this warmness in this frequency band brings an ease to the listening experience that I really enjoyed. There is good layering and separation of instruments in the mix

Conclusion

The Schitt kit reviewed here offers great value for money and at the price point they offer a very high level of sound that most will fail to achieve. They are certainly a step up from many of the products I’ve heard at a similar price.
As a pairing when used as a desktop system for listening via headphones they are really very good indeed and despite being quite big for a workspace, they do look attractive and sound great.
As separate entities and for use in a main system, I have no qualms in heartily recommending each of the Schiit products reviewed here and they do punch well above their weight, but I would suggest that they are both best suited to ancillary equipment that is of a more relevant performance point.

Stuart Smith
Lyr 2
Build Quality – 8.5/10
Sound Quality – 8.25/10
Value For Money – 8.75/10
Overall – 8.5/10
Price at time of review – £340

Bifrost
Build Quality – 8.5/10
Sound Quality – 8.65/10
Value For Money – 8.9/10
Overall – 8.68/10
Price at time of review – £395
Both these products are recommended as offering no-nonsense solutions that offer good sound for a very reasonable asking price.

The Bifrost will now go though for second review with Janine Elliot and the chance to gain an Outstanding Product Award.

Having done some PR/advisory work with Tacima mains cables/conditioners, and suggested the name sounded a bit, well, ‘Tacky’, they then changed the name to Kauden, which sounded like something you find in a cow shed. So after I got over laughing at the different paraphrases associated with Schiit Audio (there is also a British speaker company called Dyer Audio, the list just goes on!) I just got on with reviewing this DAC, and also putting it alongside the totally different Slee DAC reviewed last month. Actually, whilst the other names were unfortunate, Schiit audio was named that way quite simply to get attention. And no, the company is not German, but designed and built in America, founded by two audiophiles, Jason Stoddard (ex Sumo) and Mike Moffat (ex Theta) and not sold at extortionate Class A prices, like most American built obesities. This is a healthy size 6 yet still with the oomph and energy associated with more expensive products from across the pond. As they say on their website, they are dead serious about audio, and boy is this more than its reserved dimensions would suggest.

The Schiit Bifrost is a 24/192 SPDIF and Toslink DAC with option for 24/192 capable USB input with the USB Gen 2 upgrade and improved electronics in the Uber Bi Frost add-on, all for a total of £410 (up a tad from the time of Stuart’s review). It was this complete version that I review here. Unlike the Slee Majestic DAC I reviewed recently, with only 24bit/48kHz USB input and balanced output and the benefit of its own volume control, the much cheaper Schiit has RCA line outputs for connection to an integrated amp or pre-amp. Connected to my Passive MFA Baby Reference ensured there were no added sound-prints on the way to the speakers, and through my obese Krell monolith and Townshend SuperTweeter and Torus subsonic generator would ensure all frequencies would get to my speakers unadulterated and with all the energy they deserve.  Unlike the Slee, the Schiit is future proof, with separate upgradeable USB input and DAC/analog cards, and as stated above comes in a variety of versions with or without USB. Ok so far.

Schiit pricing is amazingly good, starting with their $99 Modi 2 USB DAC, cheaper than the £99 Cambridge Audio USB equivalent, though not so petite. Indeed, their ethos of pricing to meet the mass market is something new and welcome in the rapidly changing market place. The design is equally simplistic in its use of a single switch toggling between the three sources indicated with white LEDs and with a simple RCA output. There are cheaper and more exciting looking units out there, but the finish is by no means cheap in appearance. What is welcoming, and something I expect to see in all high-grade HiFi, is that the components are full discrete designs (whether you choose standard or Uber versions), and assembled in such a way that they can be manufactured at a price point to compete with cheap Chinese built products. With the Uber analogue stage you get the more advanced Gungnir DAC and a DC servo which eliminates the need for capacitors in the signal path. This all has an effect on the sound I heard. There were no crinkly top frequencies; rather they were as crisp as the Roast Duck I cooked over Christmas. All frequencies had a clarity and power that I would expect in higher price kit. Connected to my S/PDIF CD player output, Pictures at an Exhibition ‘The Hut of Baba-Yaga’ (Minnesota orchestra) had clear definition between each instrument with respect to position and a clear ‘space’ between the instruments, and music was calm and in control, unlike many DACs and CD players I have put this through. Wynton Marsalis ‘New Orleans Bump’ had a very clear musical spread, My Krell KPS20i was in another league in terms of detail and musicality, but the Schiit put on a very good show.  Spring can Really Hang You Up the Most (Rickie Lee Jones) bass was more forward than through my CD player though lacked the deepest frequencies that the Krell CD gives with such authority. The snare in ‘Walking to the Moon’ (The Yuri Honing Trio) wasn’t so clearly defined, in terms of natural sound decay, but not so exciting and ‘life-like’ as I would like it. Putting away my aged CD player and joining the 21^st Century, using Foobar2000 I played 24bit/192kHz digital files from my growing collection. The bass had bite, cymbals had clout and metal rock didn’t sound like aluminium. This was a surprisingly powerful piece of kit, not over the top but ‘tight’ and with authority, and most importantly, musicality.  All instruments had a clearly defined soundstage in ‘Secret Love’, as did complicated orchestration of percussion and piano in ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, both from Claire Martin(Linn)  all from Linn’s kind 24bits of Christmas present to all 24/192 fans this December (well worth a download). This worked clearer than many DACs I have tried over the last few years; which often sounded fuzzy or ‘digital’ with unclear soundstage. However, once I got into mid frequencies the clarity, composure and delicacy of sound wasn’t quite as good as the best out there. For example in the brilliant Requiem in D from Mozart K626 (Linn) was surprisingly less clear in the violins than it was through the 24/48kHz Slee Majestic, as was the slow Elgar Enigma Variation No 9.  (Lawrence Foster.Houston Symphony Orchestra).  This DAC was better at playing more exciting and easy-to-differentiate sounds, than those that perhaps require a more musical musician’s ear. Maybe more technical specification doesn’t necessarily mean more musicality, and something maybe needing a very slight tweak in the analogue section.  However, I do not want to sound like I am at all putting down this machine. In terms of detail and crispness of sound per pound (or dollar), this is a stonker of a machine.  I could hear compression and limiting in some of the tracks I played, which I didn’t hear in other similarly priced DACs, but I believe this was more of the recording getting to my speakers rather than any fault in the equipment. Nothing was getting passed this machine un-noticed. With no sample-rate conversion, all data is processed at its native rate, which is something I am always in favour of. Unlike the Slee, the muting circuitry came alive every time a track was followed by another one at a different resolution, preventing those horrible clicks through my speakers. This would play all sources I put at it, though I never got to try 24/192kHz through the Toslink, which was never designed for anything greater than 96kHz. DSD sources still wouldn’t work, but this is something Schiit looked into doing in 2012 and after asking consumer opinion came out with the Loki. This is Schiit at its best; not frightened to attempt anything, and making sure it works. Just wish they’d allow HD sound from my Virgin Tivo box. Only ITV1 HD works.

The Uber audio specification is a very respectable 2-100,000Hz (-1dB) with a maximum S/N ratio of 110dB. Whilst another 34dB is theoretical though not possible today with 24bits, and my favoured Brüel & Kjær 4138 microphone has a dynamic range of up to 168 dB and hears from 6.5 Hz to 140 kHz, as a sound engineer I don’t think we have yet reached the end of our search for the perfect sound systems, though I stress again, musicality is not just down to numbers. The Schiit deciphers the digits brilliantly in terms of detail, but just misses out in its analogue stage to stop me giving a really high sound quality number. But I know that Schiit will never stop searching for audio nirvana, and their overbuilt modular approach to design will mean they will always be up to date and “won’t end up in the dumpster”, and be something  so well built that they are intended to be “passed down to your children”. I’ll say it here, though, I’m not letting my kids near my Hi-Fi. Period.

Conclusion This is a serious piece of kit for the price and well worth a listen to if you want to spend anything sub £1000. It has a depth of detail that is hard to beat at it’s price, only slightly losing out on musicality. But for that, you need to pay much more.

Sound Quality – 8.55/10

Value for Money – 8.8/10

Build Quality – 8.5/10 

Overall – 8.62/10

Janine Elliot

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Chord Electronics’ Hugo, “the DAC/headphone amplifier that has redefined the genre”, is now available in a brand new finish: Satin Black. The new Satin Black version joins the silver model, which has been available since Hugo’s January launch, giving greater flexibility for system-matching and integration into existing Chord Electronics systems.

The finish is achieved using an anodizing process, which offers a superior black-depth and colour consistency. Both the inner and outer case is treated, offering lasting protection.

Price and availability

Hugo Satin Black is available now at £1,400 (no price supplement).

Mass Fidelity is a community of audiophiles, designers and engineers based in Toronto, Canada connected in a mission to bring the world high fidelity sound in the most convenient way possible. “Simplicity in design and dexterity in function make Mass Fidelity products unlike anything else you have ever seen or heard. Beautiful, thoughtfully created conduits for the sounds you love” the most recent press release tells us.

The Mass Fidelity Relay is a Bluetooth DAC that allows you to stream to your existing hi-fi set-up, allowing you freedom to roam the house with the ability to control your hi-fi at your fingertips. Unlike most wireless music systems there is no hassley Wi-Fi set-up, no downloading of apps to control the system, no unnecessary hoopla. With the new Mass Fidelity Relay Bluetooth DAC, you simply plug and play; wireless music straight from your smart device, in your usual media player, to your hi-fi set-up all in a matter of moments.

So much more than just a Bluetooth receiver the Mass Fidelity Relay contains a Burr-Brown DAC. This combined with the Relay’s Cirrus microprocessor, which decodes lossless aptX Bluetooth – means that “all of the musical detail is preserved, generating a dynamic range and full bandwidth response that elevates digital music from a series of ones and zeros to an emotion packed artistic expression.”

If you already have an outboard DAC you love, the Relay is still useful thanks to its Uni-fi output stage so have the option of using your outboard DAC with Relay. With a 5 second push of the power button Relay switches the two RCA jacks to output 24 bit S/PDIF digital, allowing you to stream to two outboard DACs at the same time.

Following on from last month’s Headphone Special you were warned that we had even more to come…

The world of audio is going crazy currently over a few things, the vinyl revival is one, computer based audio is another and portable headphone amplifiers is right up there with the latest must haves of consumers wanting the best discrete sound for their high quality music downloads.

Take a bow the Geek Out 1000 which combines a portable headphone amplifier and a HD High Resolution DAC in one dinky little device.

The Geek Out 1000 arrived this week in a nicely designed box with good artwork and inside was another box which resembles a necklace case with soft foam inserts cut out perfectly for the Geek itself, the umbilical cord (a USB A female to USB A male) and a small nylon drawstring pouch.

The Geek 1000 is the most powerful of the three offerings from LH Labs boasting 1 whole watt of Pure Class A Amplification which in headphone terms that’s a lot of welly! It’s recommended that if your headphones are over 100ohm to choose this model for the best performance.

Each of the models are constructed with an aluminium body and comes in a range of stylish colours, the review sample is in anodised red and looked pretty cool.

The unit has only two buttons on it, used for volume and 3D mode. For 3D mode simply press both together. Both buttons are different to the touch with the down volume having a recessed dip to its centre and the up volume a raised bit – a very thoughtful touch making it easy to determine which button is which. It’s unsurprising that such a simple little thought has been included as LH Labs strictest policy is listening to their customers and producing products which they really want, suggest and give input towards. Common sense you say? Of course! But you will be surprised at how many companies offer consumers what they think they want.

Plugging the Geek into a computer can be achieved via its in built USB A male Asyncronous 20 socket or with the aid of the including trailing 6 inch cable attachment for an easier placement.

The Geek has two rows of lights on its front, the first to show sample rates and the second for indication of 3D Sound being on …around the rear of the Geek there’s a corresponding key as to what each light is indicative of.

There are two 3.5mm headphone output sockets on the Geek Out 1000, one labelled 0.47ohm for In Ear Monitors and a 47ohm socket for those big bad boys of rock!

So Geek is ready to go wherever you go…

When I say portable, more to the point I mean the Geek only requires USB power to function from a laptop, thus making it portable.

However if you wish to connect Geek to an IOS or Android device I’m afraid this is not possible -I did try and unfortunately there is currently no driver support for these devices. This is in fact a good thing as the Geek gets tremendously warm! Anyone with experience of Class A amplifiers will know how hot they get but how good they sound. I wouldn’t fancy having it in a breast pocket or in a pair of shorts connected to a phone. Some sort of belt clip would be an obvious choice if LH ever decide to widen compatibility.

High Resolution File Playback

Chances are if you’re buying a Geek you’re not listening to crappy MP3’s ruining all the musical enjoyment  and hopefully you have ripped your cd collection and are downloading high quality music files online.

Geek will support:
Bit rates from 1bit to 32bit
Sample rates from 44.1khz to 384khz and DSD 64 and 128 protocols.
Not bad for a device the size of a lens out of a geeks spectacles!.

So, what does the Geek Out 1000 sound like?

Ummm, pretty damned awesome! I’m really surprised at how good this device sounds. At the start of this review, whilst writing the introductory part I have been listening to a playlist of many genres of music which I created on the Mac using Amarra Symphony 3.0.

I don’t think at any point during writing the previous paragraphs my head and body has stopped moving. Geek Out 1000 is extremely musical and is reminiscent of quality Class A amplification – a warm midrange, concise highs and a deep informative bass line.

I’m listening through a pair of AKG K702 headphones with a custom Tellurium Q headphone cable, which produces a fantastically clean and articulate sound.

Adding the Geek 1000 over say the Resonessence Labs Herus, or the recently reviewed Epiphany Acoustics EHP-02Di headphone amp/DAC, the Geek 1000 really seems to suit these headphones tremendously well, adding texture and warmth to the midrange, body to the bottom end and a thicker yet still incredibly detailed top ends which just seemed to have gained more confidence and rapport with one another.

The detail is very realistic and whilst listening to Alt-J’s new album, for the first time I quickly pulled the headphones off and slapped the side of my head… During the track Nara there is a bumble bee which flies from ear to ear and hovers about a bit to the right and with this being out of the blue and so realistic I honest believed I was being attacked as it’s late at night now here and I have a large flourescent tube light on above my desk and a large window open next to me… and I’m generally attacked by all sorts of flying monsters!

The Geek Out 1000 has this uncanny ability to do switching between left and right of the soundstage, the entire image is very stable, but a few times on a few tracks I’ve had this sweeping effect from left to right and a silence left each side as if one ear has dropped out. Obviously it’s a trick of the song played but the silences here on quiet passages and gaps between tracks is really very black.

Vocals on Geek are very nice indeed, they have great tone and texture and that little sprinkling of clarity that I personally prefer. I’ve got to have a little projection and vibrancy in a vocal, hence my headphone choice, but having this requires great care to the midrange undertones to express tonality correctly otherwise it’s popped ear drums time, or at least that last female artist you played high pitched vocal ringing your ears late into the night whilst your trying to sleep.

Geek Out 1000 ticks this box with a magic marker.

3D AWESOMIFICATION!!!

What a name hey? Sounds like someone in the factory got ever so excited when they named this feature haha. Oh well, let’s allow them to have their moment of fame…

The idea behind this feature is to take the sound out from being trapped inside your head and have it sounding like the performance is in front of you.

Does it, well, yeah, kinda. For me there’s a definite improvement on having a mini band trapped I between your ears which is the main reason I do not listen to headphones on a regular basis.

There’s no doubt that it’s not like listening to speakers, but the improvements are worthwhile and add a clear positive to the headphone experience for me. The sound has gone from 9 and 3 O’clock to between 10-11 and 1-2 O’clock. Outer and rear cues and nuances are more apparent now as the main focus of the sound has shifted forward. 3D AWESOMIFICATION, ok, I’ll let you have that one!

Using Geek as a standalone DAC

During my listening tests with the Geek I had a chat with Alan Rosen of AVS (UK Distributer) regarding some functionality of the unit.
Alan asked if I had tried it as a standalone DAC yet, I answered “no”.

Alan went on to describe that at a dealer evening he had recently he had the Geek playing in the system as folk arrived. It was simply hanging down the back of the rack connected to his laptop whilst the main DAC was perceived to be on in the rack. The usual chat moved on towards the sound of the system in the room and many commented on the excellent sound and were left gobsmacked when he revealed the Geek to be the DAC in use.

In light of this I connected the Geek 1000 to my amp via an Epiphany Acoustics Atratus 3.5mm to twin RCA cable. I continued to listen to my previous playlist sat on the sofa.

I too was very impressed by its performance. I was presented with a soundstage which imaged extremely well. Detail retrieval was a stand-out point for me, renditioning decays on delicate notes in extremely big boy fashion. Bass notes were full and secure, leaving small amounts of bloom to warm through the presentation and allowing for a smooth lower midrange that gave body to the vocal.

I didn’t have any intention on trying the Geek 1000 singled out as a DAC but I was pleasantly surprised and equally fascinated at how LH manage it.

Conclusion

To conclude my time with the Geek Out 1000, I can truly say how impressed and taken in by its quality of sound. It’s like getting a pair of tiny bookshelf speakers, plugging them in and saying out aloud holy shit, where the hell does that sound come from.

For a tiny portable device the size of the Geek to have a pure Class A amp and a DAC inbuilt had to be a somewhat tricky feat, especially what with having on-board controls, lighting indicators and twin output sockets. Most manufacturers leave the extra features to software.

Plug and play on Mac and Linux and a driver for Windows, well that’s Windows for you and I’m sure you guys are used to it so not the end of the world.

Bottom line is Geek Out 1000 is easy to set up, compatible with virtually any ear sound devices and sounds fantastic.

Dan Worth

Build Quality –  8/10
Sound Quality – 8.6/10
Value For Money – 8.8/10
Overall – 8.46

Recommended for – great size, great sound and great price, oh and it comes in snazzy colours too!

$299

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Digital to Analogue Conversion is like solving a connect-the-dots puzzle. Your hand’s horizontal movement drawing a line between the dots is analogous to the DAC’s clock precision. Clock noise (dubbed jitter) is comparable to a left-right shake of your hand as you draw. Vertical movement is comparable to the DAC chip’s quantization levels and output precision. A poor DAC chip will add something comparable to up-down shake of your hand. A good picture (actually, sound quality) will only emerge when both kinds of shake are minimized.

The Henry Audio USB DAC 128 mkII tries to minimize both errors by using a good DAC chip and good clocking solution. Both the DAC chip and reference clock chips have abundant power reserves placed right next to them. All of this is situated on a printed circuit board which has been designed and analysed in minute detail.

The Henry Audio USB DAC 128 mkII uses asynchronous USB Audio. This is a technology with a direct influence on audio quality. That is because the clock signal used to convert the audio is not coupled to the often noisy clock signals inside a computer and on the USB cable itself, but rather generated by precision clock chips right next to the DAC chip. These clocks are made by UK company Golledge.

“Harsh” and “digital” sound signatures often stem from improper clocking and timing noise. Jitter is comparable to wow and flutter in its nature, but operates at much, much higher frequencies.

The USB DAC 128 MkII builds on the very well received USB DAC 128 (aka. QNKTC AB-1.2). The new model uses the same DAC and clock chips but with much improved decoupling capacitors and power filters. This has an audible effect such as more bass punch (due to larger energy reserves), better resolution (due to cleaner power) and a more natural sounding character (due to energy reserves being available quicker on the circuit board).

The Henry Audio 128 MkII comes with a single Micro USB input (Asyncronous) with a plug and play implementation with Mac OSX and Linux although, as usual, Windows will require a separate driver, available on the Henry Audio website. Output is via pair of analogue RCA sockets.

The Sound

Although simple in its configuration and limited inputs, Borge Strand-Bergesen told me during his recent visit to the UK when he dropped off a DAC to me that he is looking at addressing this in a future model, a very beneficial option increasing the DAC’s flexibility hugely, although this will require a separate power cable as the current and former models are both powered directly from the USB. All of this aside and concentrating on the current model the Mac locates the DAC instantly and is ready to play in mere seconds.

When comparing the former MkI version of the DAC formally known as the QNKTC DAC and then revised later to the Henry Audio brand, one can aurally understand where the improvements in sound quality are and appreciate its MkII guise.

The rendering of leading edges in upper frequencies is more refined and a little more opulent, culminating in a less ‘digital’ type sound than its predecessor. The DAC borders towards a more natural flavour and its presentation oozes value for money.

During the beginning of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’ the sparkling that begins the track had good air and separation allowing for each separate ring to float across the soundstage, leading into the bassline which is slightly richer, tauter and larger than the older MkI version. More bumpety bump rather than bump bump, a bouncier rendition of the bottom end.

I found myself particularly more impressed with the bass of this new version over the old as my listening tests progressed, noting a strong representation of many genres of music. A double bass had more fullness and was rounder in presentation whilst listening to Damien Rice and Dance music was fast and tight expressing the slap of a kick drum more competently. Extension and decay of lower registers was very good and really delved into the lower octaves with power and finesse.

Whilst exploring some of my favourite vocalists, male and female my impressions were instantly convinced that the artist had a slightly more solitude position in the soundstage, an air of space and a finer degree of depth presenting their vocal. Never secluded from the performance and band yet singled out enough to demand their own presence within the performance, allowing for the artist to shine a little more.

Male artists had a throatines and rich tone and female vocalists projected incredibly well considering the price point of the 128 Mk II DAC from Henry Audio. I’ve heard a fair few dAC’s costing a little more in comparison and a fair few of them can leave the upper end of a female vocalist too exposed and a little splashy, yet with the new found refinement in the MkII, although still a touch forward there is a suitable amount of refinement which holds the whole performance together and exudes a more natural and explorative midrange.

Conclusion

Although the new Henry Audio DAC looks physically the same the improvements are apparent, not incredibly so but cleverly subtle in some areas. Top end information is more refined and open, the midband portrays better texture and depth and the bass commands a great deal more respect from the listener, expressing a weightier, bolder and muscular sound.

A coax or optical connection would be great and Borge and I did talk about its continued application of portability and the possibility of a new version still being powered through the USB socket. So on the road another device could be accommodated whilst a laptop or portable USB based battery could provide power duties.

At this price level it’s so difficult to fault this strong achiever, the former model was excitingly good value for money and the 128 MkII takes this up a level with its more sophisticated take on the sound without losing the excitement of the earlier model.

Dan Worth

Build Quality – 7.5
Sound Quality – 8.2
Value For Money – 8.7
Overall – 8.13

Price at time of review – £210

Recommended for – portability, good sound quality with finesse, strong bottom end and ability to explore many genres very well.

Talk about Graham Slee and you think of small phono and headphone amplifiers of excellent audio quality, if perhaps unadventurous looks. But, and many of you will know my BBC background, I remember spending many a lonely night working in Bush House sitting in front of one of the mixing desks he made whilst working as senior engineer at Audionics. In those days the BBC ushered quality and precision. Graham Slee has continued that zest for making the best since then, with his own projects under the label GSPAudio (Graham Slee Projects) with a particular emphasis on trying to get the finest possible designs using big discrete components into the small spaces. I remember all the worries he had in trying to get great audio after RoHS changed permissible chemical elements used in electrical components – including the ban on certain components and lead solder. Following that ban, despite no vicars dying due to the lead on their church roofs or Miss Scarlet dying from the lead piping in Cluedo, political correctness massacred a great deal of great audio designs. Slee frantically modified components in order to get the best possible sound whilst China could still import whatever chemical cocktails they wanted. Mr Slee never gave up trying to get a triangular peg into a square tube, and his modified electronics went as far as they possibly could to get that good sound. By the way, the idea of trying to fit a triangular peg into a square hole is something I will be returning to again later.

Since their inception in 1998, GSP Audio have continually worked on new ideas and new avenues to extend their portfolio, including improved versions of a same product and also completely new avenues such as a power amplifier, interconnect and speaker cabling, and the Bitzie and Majestic DAC, the latter which I am looking at here. At £1600 this is their most expensive and the most recent product, and largest, though at only 17.4cm x 5.7cm x 18.8cm, it is still anorexic. Packing in 3 coaxial and 3 optical digital inputs these both operate 16 and 24 bit and up to 192 kHz maximum on the coax and 96kHz Toslink optical (to be precise, frequencies allowed are 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2kHz, 96 kHz and 192 kHz). Optical input 1 can be 192kHz to special order. There is also a USB and an RCA analogue input to boot. More on these later. The unit uses the professional and highly respected Wolfson WM8804/WM8741 stereo chipset and all with a 140ps jitter, the same as on my Cambridge Audio 650C Azur CD player, which uses the Wolfson WM8740 chip. Outputs include balanced through TRS 1/4 inch jacks ideally to be connected to the balanced inputs of their Proprius monoblock power amplifiers, and a fixed-output line-level RCA connection (though this can be supplied variable level at special request). To ensure a smooth and detailed analogue sound the D-A converter is run below full scale to prevent signal clipping. It is also run in hardware mode so there is no microcontroller adding its own signature through power supply modulation or interference. Its mute function is deprecated to a manual front panel switch to remove another layer of complexity, though this does mean I have to press it to delete digital clicks every time I switch tracks or change input. The DAC uses a digital oversampling filter sending the Nyquist frequency to 364 kHz, thus allowing for a gentle roll-off and a more natural sounding analogue low pass filter. More about roll-offs later.

At first listening I set it to analogue input. Slee included an analogue input predominantly for phono, which makes me think this product would be more sellable (certainly at this price point) if it were simply a phono input, since his own phono-stage designs could easily be incorporated inside the box. For the review I connected a CD player, similarly spec’d Cambridge Audio 650C Azur. I then plugged in the separate power supply; there is no on-off button, typical of all Graham Slee products, and something I do feel a missing element especially with pulses making their way to the speaker cones. Slee suggests you leave it switched on all the time to keep components at their optimum, and so for that reason there is no switch. I used the designated Proprius mono blocks, again without on-off buttons, connected via Slee TRS stereo 1/4 inch jacks (being balanced output there are 3 connections, hence the stereo jack). I also used a stereo jack-to-XLR cable to allow direct connection to my balanced Krell KAV250a poweramp input. I was immediately impressed by the quality of sound attainable from my Cambridge Audio. Analogue output was by no means an afterthought in this preamplifier. There was full bandwidth of frequency, exceptional warmth in the lower frequencies and a very quiet noise floor. Through my LS5/9 speakers from similarly named Graham Audio, the class-AB Slee Proprius gave a rendition with aplomb, an old school rendition that is very easy to listen to and very musical at the same time. This is a good combination. The volume control is labelled in dB, which I have always wanted to see on an amplifier or preamplifier, but which is very rarely applied. At -30dB or 9 o’clock, there was sufficient audio level even into the 25watt Proprius.

Once I switched to coaxial digital input things got even better. The speed and detail of sound was further improved, though the lower frequencies are not over emphasised, as they are slightly from the analogue output. The bass warmth from the analogue output was highly tempting, and very enjoyable. In comparison the digital was as clear as glass and open. This was not a complaint. Where the analogue was like Irish stew and dumplings the digital was just salad; much better for you but not quite so much fun! Once my ears got adjusted there was no going back. Unfortunately politics denied me to connect digital output from my SACD player. And similarly, whilst I could connect my Tivo box optical connection and get very musical audio from Radio 3 on channel 903 with bit rates of 192kbps (one of the best I have ever heard radio, I might add) and alternatively OTT compression on Classic FM on 922, HD audio at 256kbps wouldn’t be able to work. It would have been nice to watch the Proms in HD and get decent audio as well. Never mind. There are no politics with analogue.

For me to listen to my super dooper digi delights I would need to play the HD audio from my laptop. There is one problem with that. Most PCs don’t have an SPDIF or optical output, relying instead on digital output forcing itself out of the USB socket. This is where everything gets either confusing, or rather, mis-confused. Let me explain. The USB socket is not designed for audio. And also, the chip doing the D-A conversion on the laptop does not understand USB either. With an external D to A converter, all the digits for that audio will be sent out of the USB socket into the external DAC to be translated into analogue music.   USB audio class 1 (UAC1) works at a slower speed than USB Audio Class 2 (UAC2). Bear in mind these are not related to whether your USB socket is rated version 1, 2 or the latest 3. UAC1 is standard on all Microsoft laptops, and its design limits digital audio to 24bit/96kHz. OSX and Linux have a native mode USB audio class two driver (UAC2) so they can cope past 32bit/384kHz. Some, including Slee, believe that with native components and drivers digital audio exits PC laptops at only 24/48kHz maximum. For that reason Graham Slee uses;

“…plain-honest 48k adaptive isochronous, and the DAC section uses oversampling (8x) to give a very similar analogue result without all the faffing about”.

USB is converted to S/PDIF and reclocked by a Wolfson WM8804 transceiver which sends I2S to a Wolfson WM8741 balanced DAC chip. Therefore in the Slee the USB input quite literally converts the signal so it can be handled exactly the same as all the other S/PDIF and Toslink digital inputs.

There are so many discussions on the internet forums about what actually exits the USB, whether it be 24/48 or 24/96, that even I got more confused at the end than I was when I started. However, after many hours (this review has taken me longer than most), I realised that my Windows laptop played 24/96, and for those DACs playing 24/192 you can install a suitable driver on your PC (and which usually comes with the DAC itself) to convert any USB from UAC1 to UAC2. Today USB is the future of digital audio whether from your PC or mobile phone via a micro USB OTG (on the go) cable converter. SPDIF and Toslink limit you to a fixed CD or DVD Audio spinner, and in today’s world of hard-disk sourcing these elder two are disappearing as quickly as DCC did. For Slee not to allow 24bit/96kHz is, I fear, a big mistake, whether or not he believes it is possible now. His belief that the limit from a PC is 48kHz is actually shared by many others. However, whatever the specification, with many new DACs appearing each month, limiting the product will not be helpful. The Cambridge Audio DACMagic100, for example, allows 24bit/96kHz without a driver from a UAC1 USB. And their minute £100 Dacmagic XS, the size of a matchbox, will even allow UAC2 if you install the supplied driver.

The best DtoA device is a single box, because it will have the lowest amount of ‘jitter’. This is caused when the master audio clock has timing errors from the information it receives. A well-designed one-box disc player places a fixed-frequency master audio clock right next to the D/A chip for the best possible performance. My 20 year old one-box Krell KPS20i CD player has an enviable jitter of 0psec and many new DACs have little more than that. The “adaptive” isochronous USB in the Majestic, means the clock in the D/A converter “adapts” to match the rate that the computer sends out audio packets. The Slee Majestic has a reasonable 140psec, exactly the same as that of the ageing Cambridge Audio CD player. In reality, jitter-induced timing errors create artefacts that audibly degrade the music signal.

USB files played through this DAC were extremely musical, with no apparent degradation of signal, nor losses in top end frequencies, and the 24 bit noise floor being used fairly well (theoretically there are 120dB, and this DAC read just under a 100dB). Ravel Piano Concerto in G (Julius Katchen, with Istvan Kerytesz conducting the London Symphony Orchestra) was very controlled with the piano sounding very real indeed, something that really surprised me in view of the hardly exciting specification. Similarly, J.S.Bach Concerto for Four Harpsichords (Karl Ristenpart, Orchestra of the Sarre) was very precise with no lack of control or clipping. Slee’s attempt to fit a triangular peg into a square hole was perhaps not in vein after all.

For me to take full advantage of the Slee statistics I would need, however, to record my excellent audio onto DVD Audio and play via S/PDIF through the Slee. Boy, does that sound musical. Top frequencies are tight and well controlled, as are the lower frequencies through my Krell/Wilson Benesch Arc and Torus duet. Resolution, detail and dynamics are excellent and this unit gives out a commanding feeling of authority and control. Classical, jazz and popular recordings are of equal musicality in terms of soundstage, speed, and pure openness and clarity. If you are happy with its limitations on paper, and no Bluetooth or wifi, then this machine is definitely something well worth listening to.  Its technical limits are in some respects its ace card. Just like the Legato Link “curves” adopted on many Pioneer CD players/recorders to make CD almost human, and the fact that some of the oldest CD players actually sound more musical than later ones as they weren’t trying too hard to be too clever in the processing. Some folk might consider that conversion circuitry for frequencies us mere humans cannot hear (ie anything above 20,000Hz and therefore anything above the 24bit/48kHz maximum) will only add their own artefacts, such as intermodulation distortion, to infect the audio quality in the bits we humans can hear. However, I know that even a trumpet has some very very quiet harmonics at 80,000Hz (see abstracts from authors such as James Boyk), and that even I can hear different frequency patterns from the same trumpet recording on a CD and on vinyl. The fact that the Slee makes grand pianos sound so amazingly lifelike makes me wonder what magic the Majestic is doing. It also made me wonder how many of those 24/192 downloads are actually that, rather than upsampled CDs or from master reel to reel tapes that have a 30kHz roof? Even using the frequency curves on some of my digital downloads show very little actually getting past 20Khz, which is of course no concern for the Majestic, since the DAC’s analogue output is limited to 11Hz-36kHz (-3dB) from Coax input and only 11Hz-20kHz (-3dB) from the USB. However, and I reiterate however, this DAC is one hell of a musical experience. It might sit miles behind others in terms of specification, but in terms of audio musicality it hits the same spot as do many of their other products, and many preamplifiers of considerably more cost. Plugged into the Proprius mono-blocks, it makes listening to music very enjoyable. And plugged into the Krell KAV25a Wilson Benesch Arc/Torus combo ‘Walking On The Moon’ by the Yuri Honing trio eschewed double bass authority and percussion with dynamics and bite. All frequencies were in control and fast. Wynton Marsalis ‘New Orleans Bump’ was more open and fun than I have heard it in a long time. Even the analogue input from the Cambridge Audio CD player gave a very respectable rendition. Dee Bridgewater was only very slightly not in control in her loudest yells in Cotton Tail, but the bass line was full and I was in the audience. No, I was in with the musicians. I was that close to the details. This DAC-come-preamp thingummy could handle almost anything I threw at it as long as the digits were no higher than 24bit/48kHz. Whether you can live with this disability on paper is up to you, but if you want to hear pure musicality then this is a surprisingly good competitor. In terms of audio sound quality this DAC was one of the most enjoyable for ages.

Conclusion. For £1600 you might not get all mod cons like 24bit/192kHz USB, Bluetooth or wifi, and it may well not look as exciting as some at the same price or cheaper, but this DAC is not intended to be a Bugatti Veyron. This is a Rolls or Bentley with real wood veneer not carbon fibre, and super soft suspension, not spine shattering hardness. This product oozes quality and musicality with a useful analogue input thrown in. Yes, there are cheaper DACs out there, but this one is musical where many out there might just be telling you fibs.

Janine Elliott

Sound quality 8.45

Build quality 8.3

Value for money 8.2 (in terms of sound quality/£)

Total 8.28

Meridian Audio has announced Explorer2 a portable, compact and rugged USB including compatibility with MQA ‘Master Quality Authenticated’ lossless audio files.

Building on the original Explorer – the Cambridgeshire-based company’s debut portable DAC – the new model features a significantly more powerful DSP capability than its predecessor, enabling Explorer2 to decode and render the MQA format, delivering authenticated master-quality replay.

Designed and hand made in the UK, Explorer2 has an all-metal enclosure housing a 6-layer circuit board and the compact unit – it weighs 50 g – up-samples all input signal to 176.4/192kHz and includes Meridian’s proprietary apodising filter. The up-sampling and apodising technologies are inherited from Meridian’s Reference 800 Series and they “correct errors in the original digital recordings while helping improve the quality of standard recordings”.

It connects to virtually any computer with a USB port – drivers are provided Linux, Macintosh, and Windows operating systems – and a trio of LED indicators show the status of the unit, confirming the current sample rate.

Commenting on the launch of Explorer2, Rayner Sheridan, Director of Marketing at Meridian Audio said “Its effect on audio performance is entirely at odds with its compact dimensions, and its ability to unlock MQA lossless audio makes it the go-to USB DAC.”

Meridian Explorer2 DAC – Suggested UK Retail Price: £199.00

Schiit Audio has introduced Fulla, its new micro-sized DAC/headphone amp combo for use with virtually any computer. The USB-powered Fulla delivers up to 24/96 HD audio with a digital to analog converter, together with a headphone amp with up to 10x the power of a typical computer headphone output port. Priced at $79, the Fulla is the most affordable dongle DAC/amp available today say Schiit.

“Best of all, Fulla has a real, analog volume knob on it—a feature that makes it easier to use than any other dongle-DAC,” said Jason Stoddard, Co-Founder of Schiit Audio. “There’s no software volume, no drivers, no digital volume processing—just plug in, turn the knob, and you have great music.”

Fulla uses many of the same parts as other Schiit products, from the CM6631A asynchronous USB input receiver, to the AK4396 digital to analog converter. Combined with thin-film resistors, and Analog Devices ADA4610 and AD8397 output devices, Fulla is said to provide “excellent sound quality beyond its modest price”.

Fulla also features a custom steel and aluminum chassis. “We made a conscious decision to keep Fulla simple and concentrate on sound quality first,” continued Jason Stoddard. “Fuller’s designed to take with you, and use on multiple computers, so plug and play operation was very important. We also wanted to get away from complex or gimmicky feature sets that might require custom applications for different OSes. The result is a small, good-sounding, and quite powerful little device that sets the bar on value for money.”

Like all Schiit products, Fulla is made in the USA, with the vast majority of its total production cost going to companies manufacturing in the USA, and local assembly, testing, and support through Schiit’s Valencia, CA offices.

Fulla, (in Norse legend, a goddess, a “bountiful healer,”) is available to order now.

Burson Audio has announced the introduction of the new Conductor Virtuoso USB DAC, Headphone amplifier and Preamplifier that can be used to drive headphones of desktop systems. The new Virtuoso supersedes all previous Conductor models.

Burson say that it has “significantly upgraded and refined previous generations of the Conductor. Besides big power, the Conductor Virtuoso includes a new, stunning 100-step volume control with a fresh and easy-to-read display. When the Virtuoso is turned on the volume indicators appear on the face of the thick, antiresonant aluminum front plate”.

Consumers can choose from two interchangeable DAC boards with different sonic characteristics, and the modular design should make for no-fuss upgrades. Another important consideration say Burson is that the Conductor Virtuoso doesn’t use densely-packed opamps, but instead all discrete circuitry which they say offers superior tonality, clarity and a lower noise floor.

The remote control is carved from solid aluminum with no visible screws.

The Conductor Virtuoso is shipping now with the ESS9018 Sabre DAC at $1,995USD / €1,850 Euros. The Burr Brown PCM1793 version is priced at $1,495USD / €1,451 Euros.

As far as I’m concerned Bluetooth has always been something that belonged firmly in the realms of teenage boys bedrooms, but it seems that this nifty technology is becoming a bit all-pervading. No sooner had I bought a tablet device I was out trying Bluetooth keyboards and we even got a pair of Bluetooth headphones to try out.

So, never one to stand in the way of progress I requested that Arcam send us over a review sample of their Mini Blink.
What Is It?

It’s a little ovoid box that measures 12 x 12 x 10 cm and weighs just 150g – it sort of looks like a largish water smoothed pebble – that you plug into the back of your preamplifier or integrated amplifier. It allows you to stream music from your laptop, computer, phone or any Bluetooth enabled device. It costs £90 and will work with PC, Android and Apple machines.

In the box you get the unit itself, a tiny wallwart powerpack (with a choice of plug connectors to match your country’s sockets), a USB cable to connect the Blink to the wallwart and a minijack to stereo RCA cable (I used my own chunkier cables). The unit can be powered via USB from your PC or laptop too.

With the heavier cables I used I had to use a bit of Blutack under the unit to stop it slipping about but it was fine with the supplied cable. It’s a bit plasticky looking but it’s not a product that is really going to be on show…more of a plug it in and forget about it until you want to use it kind of thing.

The unit has a claimed range of ten metres and so in theory you should be able to stream your music from your chosen device at the touch of a virtual button.

Inside the unit is a Burr Brown DAC that will accept aptx Bluetooth and which should give a much higher quality of sound than standard Bluetooth.

Easy To Use?

Ok, I’m not really known for my prowess around computers but this is a pretty simple device to get your head round once you’ve got your tunes on your player of choice…this was a Nexus  7 in my case.

For me, set up was simple case of  pressing the little button on the Blink (it blinks), go to settings on the Nexus 7, find the Blink (called Arcam Bluetooth) and choose it…hey presto you get music out of your speakers.

Sound OK?

The Nexus 7 isn’t exactly what you’d call an audiophile product and it refuses to recognise my FLAC files and so I was ‘reduced’ to using 320Kbps MP3 files to stream to the Blink, but you know what, the sound isn’t too bad at all… in fact it’s really rather splendid.

The only thing I can fault is the actual DAC in the Blink – it’s just never going to compare to the reference DAC we use, but then we’re talking oranges and apples as the reference DAC is the best part of £7000. For £90 what you are getting is damned fine sound that is really hard to bash in anyway with the files I threw at it. If you were to spend a little more you can get the Arcam rBlink which sports a digital out.

There’s a nice and relaxed feel to the sound with no nasty top end hash or digital artefacts and there’s an openness too that belies we’re listening to MP3s through a sub £100 DAC…that is connected by the Bluetooth fairies. With the chilled techno (Kompakt) I listened to there was decent bass clarity and depth, fine and clear mids and good top end definition… certainly nothing to complain about for all but the most critical of listening. With vocal tracks (Gil Scott-Heron) there is a warmth and none-fatiguing quality.
Conclusion

Another no-brainer for me. If you have folks come round who want you to hear a new tune they have on their phone then this is ideal…press the button, pair the phone and away you go. ­Personally it’s a product I’ll not use all the time as I have dedicated sources, but for parties and where I don’t want folk messing with my expensive kit then the miniBlink is perfect and hard to pick any fault at all with.

For folk who have a phone with all their tunes on and who want to listen through a proper hifi rather than headphones then again this little doodad is hard to fault. Personally I’d like to have the option of a digital out.

Sound quality isn’t the very best in the world but then for the asking price any one that moaned would surely be being churlish in the extreme and I found it perfectly adequate, even through the best part of £20Ks worth of pre, amp and speakers.

Sound Quality – 8.2

Build – 8.1

Value – 8.5

Overall –  8.23

Price as reviewed £90

Highly Recommended for those looking to get good sound from their phones to their proper hifi, or for those looking for a unit to use once in a while for parties and the like.

Stuart Smith

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Leema Acoustics has launched the Libra DAC/preamp, an “astonishingly featured- packed high-resolution digital hub, combining highly advanced digital technologies with an incredible complement of connectivity options.”

The Libra is the latest addition to Leema Acoustics’ flagship Constellation series and has the same precision-machined casework as the award-winning Tucana amp and Antila CD player.

Designed and built by Lee Taylor and Mallory Nicholls (Leema), Libra’s simple-yet- elegant looks conceal a “staggering array of class-leading technologies”. The new Libra crystallises Leema’s decades of experience in digital audio for professional studios worldwide.

The high-resolution Libra DSD DAC has been designed for today’s (and tomorrow’s) HD audio world and is said to be fully future-proofed. The Libra offers extreme high- resolution playback including: DSD 64; DSD 128, DXD and 384kHz PCM via USB (and Libra’s I2S inputs). DSD64 is also supported via all S/PDIF inputs (coaxial and optical) and AES/EBU inputs.

The new high-resolution DAC/preamp contains Leema Acoustics’ new fully balanced Quattro Infinity dual-mono DAC modules which are field-replaceable; should conversion technology improve in the future, the modules can be upgraded. The advanced Quattro Infinity modules also feature user-selectable output filters, for maximum flexibility with higher sample-rate sources. 

The Libra boasts loads of connectivity options plus three coaxial and three optical inputs, capable of accepting high-resolution 24-bit/192kHz audio. For high-end partnering equipment, the Libra also offers some more esoteric options, including two I2S inputs via RJ45 connectors. With fully programmable pin-allocation on one of these inputs in software, any high-end source with an I2S interface can easily be accommodated. Source components with professional standard AES/EBU outputs can also be connected: the Libra offers two input connections available via industry standard XLR connectors.

Leema’s M1 USB module provides a connection for computer audio replay from both Windows (driver software included), Macintosh and Linux machines. This interface is fully asynchronous, allowing the Libra to precisely regulate the data rate coming from the computer and deliver “incredibly low jitter levels”.

Libra offers three separate analogue inputs, each of which can be individually configured as unbalanced, via RCA Cinch connectors, or fully balanced via XLR connectors. The entire signal path, both digital and analogue, is fully balanced from the digital data stream, to the balanced analogue outputs.

The Libra is able to operate either as a conventional audio component with fixed output level, or as a high-end pre-amplifier with full analogue volume control on-board. Outputs are provided via unbalanced RCA/Cinch connectors and balanced XLR connectors. Libra is also a full LIPS controller (see below) and can control Leema Acoustics’ range of power amplifiers directly.

For added flexibility in the digital age, the Libra also has an optional Bluetooth interface and a headphone amplifier.

LIPS is an acronym of Leema Intelligent Protocol System. It is a communication bus that enables Leema Acoustics components to communicate with other units in the range. The communication enables simple control of power on/off from one unit, right up to the control of all functions in a Leema Acoustics system, comprising up to 15 individual components.

The Libra DAC/preamp is priced at £5,995 and is available now.

Acoustic Research have chosen Japan and the UK markets in which to launch the total rebirth of the 60 year old brand. The UA1 is the first product from the new Acoustic Research Digital and High-End Division.

The 24/192 UA1 is a DAC designed to upgrade the sound from any computer, to deliver genuine High-Definition audio and play virtually any HD audio file via headphones, active speakers or Hi-Fi. It comes with a free copy of JRiver Media Centre software for Mac and Windows.

A huge amount of work has gone into the design of the digital, analogue AND the power stages.

As a Compact Portable DAC, the UA1 is USB host-powered so needs no mains supply. “The specifically engineered headphone amp is one of the most powerful available on any device like this and is able to drive the most serious headphones” says the company’s press release.

The small heavy DAC, is constructed of aerospace grade aluminium, with exceptional anti-vibration properties. High-end components are used throughout on a single circuit board. Build quality is exceptional. Damped rubber feet secure the UA1 when used on a desk.

Specifications

Digital-to-Analogue Converter 

– Burr-Brown PCM1794a

Current-Voltage Converter 

– Dual Burr-Brown OPA2134

Headphone Amplifier

– Texas Instrument TPA6120A2

– Power (THD < 0.01%) / 32 ohms 400mW + 400 mW / 300 ohms 43mW + 43mW

Input 

– USB 2.0 (host powered)

– USB Audio Class 2.0 (Asynchronous mode)

Output 

– Headphone Output (6.3 mm)

– Gold Plated Brass RCA (Right)

– Gold Plated Brass RCA (Left)

– Optical (TOSLINK)

Supported Formats

– 44.1 kHz – 48 kHz

– 88.2 kHz – 96 kHz

– 176.4 kHz

– 192 kHz (Analogue output only)

– Higher than 192 kHz (Supported through high precision conversion in JRiver Media Center)

– DSD64/DSD128 (Supported through high precision conversion in JRiver Media Centre) 

The new DAC-200ts is no exception and represents our best digital product yet say Cary Audio! 

The new DAC is “packed with features like TruBit™ upsampling” and  utilises a 128 bit DSP engine that expands native bit depths to 32 bits and upsamples incoming rates to 1 of 7 selectable sample rates, up to 768 kHz.

Whether a signal is upsampled or left native, the signal is clocked several times with Cary’s OSO™ reclocking, then sent to 4 independent DACs for 8 channels of processing. Cary say that “using multiple parallel DACs ensures that the process of converting a true balanced or single ended digital signal will retain all the musicality stored within while transitioning it to a pure analogue signal that sounds like analogue!”

The analogue section of the DAC-200ts is uses Cary’s Dual Independent Output (DiO™) analogue topology utilising a separate solid state output stage and a separate vacuum tube output stage. “Not to be confused with a hybrid design where a circuit always has the same sound characteristic, the separate independent analogue output stages allow you to tailor the sound of the DAC-200ts to your source material with the simple touch of one button” says the company’s recent press release.  It continues “Having the ability to enhance the sound characteristics of the DAC-200ts to match your source material means maximum flexibility for maximum sonic benefit. Not only is the DAC-200ts a reference level digital source unit; it can also be used as a digital preamplifier using its 3.0 volt variable volume output. What’s more, a clock input allows for the use of an external master clock, or using the clock output allows the DAC-200ts to function as a master clock for other digital sources capable of a master clock input”.

The DAC-200ts supports super high resolution Asynchronous USB computer audio meaning PCM up to 32 bit/ 384 kHz as well as native DSD 64, 128, and 256 audio. Additionally, the DAC-200ts includes; CSR aptX® lossless Bluetooth, SPDIF coaxial and Toslink inputs, AES/EBU input and both fully balanced XLR and RCA outputs. Large VFD display, full function remote control, and Ethernet and Wi-Fi for control systems are also included.

Weight:  28 lbs.

Dimensions:  3.75″ H x 17.25″ W x 16.25 ” D

DAC-200ts Retail Price:  $3,995

The DAC-200ts will begin shipping on April 9, 2015.

“The new Yggdrasil DAC from Schiit Audio is an entirely different take on “end-game” DAC design, eschewing the now-standard delta-sigma and DSD-optimized architectures to deliver optimal performance for the 99.99% of recorded music out there—music in PCM format” says the opening lines of Schiit’s latest press release.

“Yggdrasil was designed with a single goal in mind: to give you the most from the music you already have,” said Mike Moffat, Co-Founder of Schiit Audio. “It’s the end result of five years of research into digital filter algorithms, resulting in a unique closed-form digital filter running on an Analog Devices SHARC DSP processor, as well as four true 20-bit Analog Devices DACs running in differential configuration.”

Yggdrasil, or “Yggy,” as the DAC in known informally at Schiit, supports all PCM formats from 16/44 to 24/192 through all inputs, including USB, AES/EBU, BNC, Coaxial, and Toslink optical. From there, the all-new USB Gen 3 input receiver and Schiit’s proprietary Adapticlock™ system manages clock regeneration. The SHARC DSP processor implements Schiit’s proprietary 18,000+ tap digital filter algorithm at 352.8 or 384kHz sampling rate and 20-bit depth, which is then passed to the AD5791 DACs and a discrete JFET output buffer. Yggy outputs both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA (summed) analogue simultaneously.

“It’s the best DAC I know how to build,” Mike summed up. “We’re very proud of its performance—and we’re very excited to be able to deliver this level of performance to the overwhelming majority of PCM music that everyone already owns.”

Like all Schiit products, Yggdrasil is designed, engineered, and manufactured in the USA, with the vast majority of its total production cost going to companies manufacturing in the USA, and local assembly, testing, and support through Schiit’s Valencia, CA offices.

Yggdrasil, (in Norse legend, the “world tree” or source of all things) is available to order now on the schiit.com website for $2,299.

At the recent Bristol Show I found myself very impressed with the new CPM2800 Amplifier from Chord Electronics driving a pair of Kef Reference One Loudspeakers. I asked the representative at the door Tom what was making the amplifier sound so different to the previous version. Tom said ‘we have made some power supply and signal path changes, but the main difference that I am hearing is the implementation of Hugo technology’.

Hugo is the DAC section of the CPM2800 and what better way to single Hugo out then to get an actual Hugo from Chord. The standard Hugo is more than a DAC, it also has a high quality Headphone Amplifier integrated in its bijou bodywork.

Hugo may be a small eloquent unit but my goodness it’s features are of gargantuan proportions. No less than 5 digital interfaces including A2DP aptX Bluetooth, Coaxial, Optical and Hugo also benefits from two advanced USB inputs: one driverless input for legacy USB devices and one asynchronous high- definition USB port for operation up to 384kHz.
In addition to 384KHz PCM files, the Hugo can also process DSD 128 data using the latest DSD-over-PCM standard (DoP). Whether using Mac OS or Windows OS, Chord Electronics’ own proprietary driver software is provided, removing the restrictions of current standard operating system audio playback.
Hugo has a built-in battery-charging circuit, with a full charge reached in approximately two hours. Hugo takes no power over its USB input (as this is severely limited with many partnering products) and only takes signal data, therefore, it is fully compatible with all iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Further features include an advanced reference-grade digital volume control which remains bit perfect according to Chord.
When attempting to connect my digital coaxial cable which has spring loaded Neutrik Profi RCA connectors I found that the chassis of the Hugo prevented me from doing so, there didn’t seem to be enough clearance around the RCA socket, the same was true when trying to connect my optical cable, so USB was the default interface I had to use with sadly no other choice.
Construction of the Hugo like all Chord Electronics products is absolutely solid. The casework is precision machined from aircraft grade aluminium and comes in black or silver anodised finishes. There is a magnified circular window which gives a glimpse of the circuit board and a row of LEDs which correspond to certain functional modes. All in all a stunning little piece of equipment.

THE SOUND

My first connection to the DAC was one of simplicity. I wanted to replicate a situation whereby I wasn’t being too anal about connections and cables used. I plugged the supplied USB A to USB mini A cable from the side of the Apple wired keyboard into the DAC and fed the active Focal desktop speakers I use with a pair of RCA’s that I had to hand.
This little setup normally uses a modified Metrum DAC that has a very bespoke power supply and series regulators. The Hugo however with its internal battery and no power over USB was an interesting comparison for me to make. 
Most noticeably on first impressions was the amount of air and space around the lead vocalist and instruments. The background of the Hugo was completely black, so dark that I intently listened to many types of music as sometimes when the background is so dead it can darken and sterilise the music somewhat. This definitely was not the case, what I was hearing was an effortless sound that had stronger grounds from where the notes emanated from, instruments exuded texture and organics right through to their very core, which naturally allowed for an opening up of the soundstage, allowing it to convey many dimensions of layering.
I listened to Loreena McKennit’s ‘Mask and the Mirror’ album and her vocal was absolutely glorious. The intense power and grace which Loreena sings with in this Celtic inspired album sends shivers down the spine when heard at volume, on the desktop it was great so naturally I wanted to hear the difference when implemented into my main system.
I was prepared for a huge improvement in definition and clarity and I was wonderfully satisfied. The sound I had from the main system was clean, clear, solid and just so stable. I don’t know what and how Chord Electronics do what they do in this little box of tricks and quite frankly I don’t really care, there’s too many hang ups about technology specifications right down to resistor and capacitor implementation it often becomes a somewhat pompous affair by consumers and reviewers alike to comment on a product before they have heard it… me I trust my ears and base any decisions on the exploration of music with any new product.
Hugo develops midrange tones with absolute ease, they are crystal clear and fully fleshed out, transparent right through to the core of its detail and as articulate as a 20 year old lady of the manor fresh out of Finishing School – her posture straight and upright. I was very much taken back by how true Hugo recreated such a stable soundstage and especially the height of it during many of my favourite vocalists work, each performance showed a reflection of the singers height and presence in centre stage, all band members and room acoustics produced the boundaries to the strong features of this glorious picture.
Chord have always been able to reproduce electronic sounds faithfully and excitingly and it’s this that first drew me to their room at Bristol this year. As you know I too listen to a lot of this genre of music as well as the acoustic stuff and both are far enough removed from each other to be a great test for any piece of equipment. Tick tick tick, bass – solid, treble – resolution rich, crystal clear and playful, three dimensionality – stunning!
Dynamically the Hugo conveys big transients with flair and accuracy, there is a sense of ease from this little unit combating dynamics of other DACs in its price range so strongly and it’s battery power in relation to large toroids never seems to be a factor. Bass isn’t huge but it’s definitely explosive, tight and extended revealing great amounts of information in the upper bass regions such as the punch of a kick drum on electronic music.
Playing some trance, dance and hard house music my room was absolutely alive, the spacial boundaries seemed to disappear and the artifacts of the music just danced through, around and past the room’s edges. The intensity of the sound is stimulating and if you can sit still whilst listening to this type of music then you must be wearing velcro pants. The sheer excitement and drama the Hugo does for the listener is absolutely awesome, it makes me wonder who at Chord Electronics decided to add Hugo to the CPM2800, they surely need a pat on the back, Hugo deserves more recognition than simply associating it purely with, or as a headphone amplifier.
So, what is it like as a headphone amplifier? Errrrrrm, a mini CPM2800 in your head. It’s extremely articulate and spacious, choral pieces and big bands sound separated, brass, woodwind sets have their own groupings in the performance and individual intricacies of specific musicians can be heard above and amongst the others during busy passages. Transient slams and smaller more subtle intricacies of violin peaks were so easy to ascertain, music never seemed to be over cluttered or tempered by the enormity of the performance.,
Acoustic sound is just so clean and underpinned with fantastically natural tones allowing for decay of notes to be so true to life that the brain wanders away with it following the extension and flow of the note when it’s shocked back into the performance by the next pluck of a string or beat of a drum. I got pretty much lost in some ambient type music late one night and nodded off in my computer chair with my feet on the desk only waking up when I jolted and nearly fell off it.
The amplifier in the Hugo is very powerful driving my AKG 702’s and Sennheiser HD600’s with ease, I much preferred the Senns with the Hugo as the AKG’s are more so for monitoring duties and the Senns are for playback, they are cleaner sounding than the old reference 650’s and always much preferred by myself to them and some who may love their HD650’s may well not consider the Chord Electronics Hugo as their type of sound as they enjoy a smoother more romantic type sound – to them I’d say try it, the cohesive balance articulation and resolution of the Hugo is just so well balanced and engaging.
The volume control on Hugo is not to my liking at all. It’s a sideways on rubbery plastic rotating wheel, yes it looks cool with the changing LED lights representing intensity of levels but I find that I have to put so much pressure on it to obtain friction to move it my thumb turns white, a friend said to me when looking at it and me showing him the volume ‘wow, your pushing that hard aren’t you?’. I really appreciate the fact the volume remains bit perfect of course and it’s a niggle that one would learn to live with. I have dubbed the volume control with the name ‘Miriam’, Miriam is Hugos wife and she is that nagging type of wife that can sometimes be a pain in the backside. Next time Hugo comes out for a drink, maybe he can leave his wife at home?!

CONCLUSION

What can I say about Hugo? It’s a revolutionary piece of kit which I am just so happy is now deemed absolutely fundamental to Chord as a core product which now graces their latest amplifier as well as this well constructed, solid sounding headphone amplifier.
With enough connections to carry all your mobile devices and a laptop with you connected at all times and a battery that takes only 2 hours to charge on paper it seems well implemented and straight forward to connect to any digital device.
Somewhat more importantly though is the sound. Wondrous things happen when connecting Hugo to a speaker system, amplifier or set of headphones all of a sudden you are transported into the heart of the music and whether at loud levels or lower volumes late at night, every beat and note is projected to the listener leaving no detail veiled or subdued in any way. The sound is articulate, controlled, expressive and intense. Many genres of music are covered exceptionally well and the unit produces a soundstage which is vast and stable. All in all it’s a truly pleasing piece of kit, apart from the volume control that is.

Price at time of review: £1400

Build quality: 8.5/10*

Sound Quality: 9/10

Value For Money: 8.8/10

Overall: 8.76/10

*Reduced scoring for connections
Recommended for absolute flexibility and portability which combines a sound that belies its tiny footprint making a package that simply needs to be heard and tested.

Dan Worth

Dan in his review above has given the Chord Electronics Hugo DAC/Headphone Amplifier an overall scoring of 8.93 out of 10, which means it will now be handed over to another reviewer for further evaluation, which in this instance is Dominic.

“Tiny footprint” says Dan and he is not kidding. I got the tape measure out and it’s vital statistics are 103mm wide x 25mm high x 95mm deep, so it’s comfortably pocket sized and easily transportable. Dan has more than adequately described the technical and construction aspects of the Hugo, so will press ahead with my perceptions for you of the Chord Electronics Hugo.

SOUND QUALITY

I was primarily interested in the Hugo’s performance as a digital to analogue converter more than as a headphone amp, so was rather keen to hook it up to my resident CD spinner with a good quality glass TOSLINK connector. Oh dear. The TOSLINK input to the DAC is deeply recessed into the chassis and the outer shell of the TOSLINK plug was butting up against the Hugo’s casework so the connector was prevented from being inserted, therefore only the tip was making the merest physical contact and although the signal was getting through, it was not a firm solid reliable connection – in fact the slightest movement of the DAC or lead caused it to drop out. Somewhat miffed by this, I dug out of the spares drawer an old plastic TOSLINK lead and that managed to tenuously hang on no better than the expensive glass optical lead – and I mean precisely no better, because movement of either lead or DAC still caused it to fall out. In the end I rested a book on the cable to keep it in place.

Dan in his review couldn’t quite get to grips (excuse the pun) with the volume control, but have to be honest here I didn’t have any real issues with it, save the one time when the phone rang and needed to reduce the volume rather quickly, which was a series of rapid short stabbing fumbles on the control due to the restricted travel of “thumb actions” available for each stroke. At every other instance the control was smooth and positive, fairly easy-ish to shift the volume up or down, very precisely indeed for all that.

Surprised too that Chord have not labeled on the casework any of the controls and switches with their designated functions. It’s not exactly taxing to remember 2 push buttons, a switch and the relevance of 2 USB sockets, but it’s a finishing touch that I and presumably others too, might find welcome. The coloured LED sequences were not entirely helpful either and I just stabbed at the leftmost source select button until I heard sound through my speakers. Job done and whatever colour of LED was lit at the time bothered me not, especially so when I am colour blind.

By heck Dominic, you have given the Chord Hugo a pretty good pasting there, so have you something positive to say about it? Well, yes I have and it’s a very BIG positive. Forget all the niggles I have mentioned, this DAC just blows you away when you hear it and whether it’s housed in some fancy casework or a wooden cigar box becomes totally immaterial as a result. It is so natural sounding, yet detailed and communicative and thoroughly musical at the same time, quite unlike any other DAC I have heard previously with it’s presentation. Not easy either to pinpoint or isolate WHY it sounds so different, because it is the whole of it and not just one or more elements that makes it what it is in entirety. You still with me?

If I say “detailed” I mean exactly that, not in a spot lit manner, nor in an artificially uplifted way, not in a glaring stark way either, but the Hugo manages to uncover a wealth of detail in all genres of music, even within the busy frenetic multi-layered heavy rock or dance music that seems to confuse and befuddle other DACs, so it separates out all the musical strands into their component elements and keeps them firmly there. If I described the bass as “powerful” then I mean that as strength, tenacity and oddly enough, delicacy at the same time, because a pluck of a bass guitar string didn’t just result in a full single bass note, it resulted in hearing all the vibrations of the string and the body of the instrument itself as well, with the decay of both being heard simultaneously yet still separated. Excuse my brevity here, but if it were any more detailed than it already is, you might be able hear the guitarist’s fingerprints rustling against the strings as they played – assuming it is in the recording of course and aided immensely by the total eerie silence in the background. Midrange and vocals are truly fluid and flowing, female vocals in particular had a beguiling realism that made your hair stand on end. Every element of the music is relayed in full, but all of it entirely in proportion and most importantly, in relevance and context and that’s what I liked the most with it’s unique set of sound qualities that made compelling listening for hour after hour without any fatigue because it is so engaging and enervating in it’s musical abilities.

I am not a classical music fan by any means, but I was tempted into playing one or two excerpts (Entire symphonies are beyond me) from a compilation CD I keep solely for bashing errant spiders, to put the Hugo through it’s paces and was pleasantly surprised that the Hugo actually made it a pleasant and enjoyable listen. Brass and strings sections had a rich sonorous quality which I had not heard before and when the Timpani was struck, goodness me I felt it. One recording has a Triangle playing throughout the excerpt and I could easily follow every single strike, whereas it has tended to be drowned out and overwhelmed by the other instruments. I like this DAC, if it has made me enjoy classical music which I usually avoid, so this CD has been elevated from spider walloping duties in future, but that of course may be viewed rather differently without the Hugo in place.

The volume control operates in the digital domain and also varies the RCA analogue output level, so I found a good use for it. I have a Sheffield Labs CD of James Newton Howard and Friends which is totally uncompressed and the dynamics can overload an amplifier’s inputs, so adjusting the volume control downwards slightly gave the amplifier more headroom for coping with the highly dynamic transients found in this particular recording. The percussion on this CD is stunning and drums come across as you being just inches away from the drum set receiving the full impact, while piano had endless decay of harmonics and the body of the instrument sounded so real you could almost be standing next to it.

Now on to the headphone amplifier evaluation. I don’t have an expensive pair of headphones because I find them to be claustrophobic within a very short period of time and the “in the head” sound gives me the shudders, but I do have a budget set of headphones and the test here is can the Hugo headphone amp make this pair sound good? Yes indeed, the Hugo certainly did inject a massive dose of energy and vitality into this modest pair of headphones. The treble came across as clean and insightful, rather than the “Tish, tish, tish” sort of sound listening on headphones elicits and commonly plagued with. Bass was powerful and deep too, which has never happened before with other amps of this ilk and all the details I heard through the main system were reproduced into the cans as well. A couple of prods on the “Crossfeed Filter” button managed to eradicate the “in the head” stereo effect and I wish more headphone amps could incorporate a similar feature. All in all, I would say the Hugo gives a level of sophistication that no other headphone amp I have heard to date can muster or emulate.

Chord make great play of the Hugo’s long battery life and it would be remiss of me not to see if their claims stand up to scrutiny. I unplugged the charger and hooked up to my PC through the unpowered USB input playing non-stop Spotify tracks, searching for some new music purchases. This was interspersed with listening on my mobile phone, again through the unpowered USB connection. I racked up nine hours of music on the one charge and still no signs of the Hugo yelling out for more juice for it’s battery, signified by a sequence given out by one of the internal LEDs.
CONCLUSION

In true Chord signature fashion, it walks a path well away from the herd in it’s unique design concept, but there needs to be a rethink regarding the connection socket issues, especially so the TOSLINK connection. As I understand it, Chord have already moved the analogue output RCA sockets from an earlier variant because they were too close together and they should follow suit with addressing the connection problems both myself and Dan experienced with the current Hugo while under review.

Setting that aside though, we have a product in the Hugo that is far more than the sum of it’s parts, so I will table the positives:

It is compact and portable, has a stunning amount of battery life and for good measure the charger itself is very compact as well and that too will fit into a pocket or handbag. So, provided you can find a socket to charge up to full capacity in under 2 hours you shouldn’t be left high and dry with a flat battery at any time.

It has a resolving and articulate amplifier section which should power almost any headphones you can care to name, right from ear buds up to serious power hungry audiophile quality level headphones. The digital pre-amplifier section is again a true stunner in performance with it’s unique bit-perfect volume control.

The real star of the show however is the DAC section which is stunning in every way imaginable, equally at ease on the move with headphones, as it is sat in the home rack doing the job of a top flight DAC in a sophisticated hi-fi system with portability as an added bonus. Chord obviously think so too, because they have standalone DACs now released with the same Spartan 6 FPGA chipset as the Hugo and as Dan has rightly observed, it is also being incorporated into their amplifier products too.

Truly untouchable in performance terms.

Build quality: 8.4/10

Sound quality: 9.1/10

Value for money: 8.9/10

Overall: 8.8/10

The “Build quality” scoring is referenced to the TOSLINK connection problem noted in the review.

Recommended for: Those looking for a high performing digital to analogue convertor with the added bonus of portable headphone listening. An audition is strongly recommended.
Dominic Marsh

Following its world launch at International CES 2015 in January, Chord Electronics’ latest proprietary DAC, the 2Qute, is now shipping globally. Now in full production at Chord’s riverside headquarters in Kent, the hand-made 2Qute is arriving in dealerships around the world.

The new 2Qute, which replaces the Qute EX, takes Chord’s proprietary FPGA DAC technology from the Hugo mobile DAC/headphone amp and adds it to the compact, boutique Chordette range.

2Qute advances the Qute EX into 2015 with the latest Hugo DAC specification. It brings the latest technology into a ‘pure’ DAC (no amp), which contains the same Spartan 6 FPGA used in Hugo. The 2Qute also boasts low distortion levels of 0.0003%.

The 2Qute offers support for up to 32-bit/384kHz audio via coax and USB, and 24- bit/192kHz over optical. DSD64 is supported on all inputs and DSD128 is supported via coax or USB (all via DoP). The new DAC also gains a switch to easily move between coax, optical and USB digital inputs.

The device features a Class 2 USB input which, because of the 2Qute’s home-system orientation compared to Hugo’s more mobile aspirations, has been galvanically isolated. This has been achieved using a novel technique which allows for data rates of up to 384kHz; the input is driverless on Apple and Android devices, with (ASIO included) drivers for Windows devices. 

“The progression of the Qute, a 10,000 digital-tap-length series of  DACs started with the original product just four years ago, with the original 192kHz-capable Qute. It was followed a year later with the HD suffix when we gave the Qute full 384kHz capability, and the EX suffix followed when DSD capability and double-DSD (64 and 128) was added.

“All of these units famously used the same discrete pulse-array DAC board and it’s well known that Chord Electronics chose not to use industry-standard off-the-shelf chips sets. The development of these ground-breaking DAC designs gave Rob Watts, our design consultant, the proving ground for a totally new and holistic type of DAC design which was to become the mobile and desktop DAC, Hugo.

“Hugo has since become the benchmark by which all other DACs are judged and has just shy of 40 recommendations in the press; Hugo’s sonic credentials are undeniable. However, this gave Chord a problem: some customers were less keen on a mobile-orientated product in their home systems and felt Hugo had too many superfluous features for home use. They loved the idea of a simpler and ostensibly lower-cost DAC, but wanted the award-winning sound quality that only Hugo, with its digital tap-length of 26,000, can achieve.

“Rob Watts completely redesigned the Qute’s circuit board in order for it to contain Hugo performance levels without the mobile features, such as the volume control and batteries. Because the redesign was so extensive, we felt the Qute had to have a MkII designation, but 2Qute sounded undeniably better, so the name stuck!”

2Qute key features 

• Coax, optical and USB digital inputs with input switch
• Galvanically isolated Class 2 USB input up to 384kHz
• Driverless operation on Apple and Android devices; drivers supplied for Windows
• Support for up to 32-bit/384kHz audio via coax and USB, and 24-bit/192kHz via optical
• DSD64 supported on all inputs, DSD128 supported via coax or USB input (all via DoP)
• Source and sample rate indication/illumination
• 12V 5A power supply provided

The new 2Qute DAC is available now Price: £995

The Aesthetix Romulus DAC & CD transport, and sister DAC the Pandora, are now available in enhanced ‘Signature’ editions.
Widely known as “masters of analogue” and obsessed with natural sound quality, California-based Aesthetix took their time before venturing into the digital domain. But they are no strangers to digital: Founder and chief designer Jim White spent his formative years with a leading digital audio company. “I could have made a DAC years ago”, says White, “but I want every product under the Aesthetix brand to be something special, so I took a decade to amass ideas for unique innovative technologies that would break new ground in natural sound reproduction from digital audio.” The Romulus and the Pandora are the products of that ambition.

The Pandora is a valve-based DAC with one USB and three SPDIF inputs (plus an optional second USB input). The Romulus includes the same features and construction as the Pandora, but adds a CD transport mechanism.

A key element in achieving that ‘un-digital’ quality in both the Romulus and Pandora is the digital filtering, which has a significant impact on a product’s sound. While many DACs use the same off-the-shelf filter and DAC chip (and hence all sound very similar), Aesthetix use proprietary DSP running on a Motorola DSP56362 chip. This custom approach allows for more sophisticated filtering techniques and, crucially, for tailoring the filter’s sound to the product as a whole.

The filter’s outputs are converted to analogue by a Burr-Brown PCM 1792A running in pure differential mode: a critical implementation feature that only amplifies the audio signal itself, cancelling noise and other digital artefacts.

The clock section of a digital product is critical for audio performance. Any jitter or noise will cause clearly audible consequences. While most DACs use an off-the-shelf crystal oscillator to regulate the timing, Aesthetix use custom-manufactured crystal oscillators to deliver radically lower jitter and noise than any standard issue part.

Aesthetix’ reputation for state-of-the-art analogue stages is continued in the Romulus and Pandora, both of which feature a current-sourced fully differential zero feedback valve amplifier. Differential amplifiers have the unique ability of rejecting common mode noise, while ground noise is reduced by using two separate, discretely regulated positive and negative power supplies for the voltage gain section. Output buffering is also run in pure differential mode with zero feedback – a unique configuration providing much of the benefit of balanced operation for single-ended outputs. The output section also has separate discretely regulated positive and negative supplies which are completely isolated from the voltage gain power supplies.

The use of a single transformer to supply all circuits carries a risk of noise. The Pandora therefore features three separate transformers. First, the digital / DSP section is given its own transformer and regulated power supply, while individual digital sections are further locally regulated to isolate them from each other. A second transformer and dedicated regulator are used for the control system, and a third transformer, custom-manufactured for Aesthetix, is used in the analogue sections, where six separate windings and regulation stages are used. The Romulus also features a further two transformers in its CD transport section.

The Romulus and Pandora USB input uses the asynchronous transfer mode licensed from Gordon Rankin / Wavelength Technologies with an ultra-low jitter fixed-frequency crystal clock immediately adjacent to the DAC. This technology allows for jitter levels over one hundred times lower than previous USB solutions. The same fixed-frequency crystal oscillator is used for the SPDIF inputs.

To combat computer generated noise pollution, optical couplers galvanically isolate the USB input and processing sections from the DSP section, including ground. While expensive and difficult to do, it achieves a huge sound quality improvement over a directly-connected USB section that allows noise to infiltrate the audio circuitry.

The Romulus features a dedicated Red Book CD transport using a special Teac audio-only mechanism. Instead of running from SPDIF or other jitter-prone serial connections, data is retrieved from the IDE bus. This allows the DAC’s master clock to be in total control, yielding the minimum possible level of jitter. Completely enclosed in its own faraday cage, the CD transport is electrically, mechanically and magnetically isolated from the rest of the DAC.

An optional high-resolution volume control can be added to the Romulus and Pandora, allowing them to directly drive a power amplifier. While most digital products control volume in the digital domain, such that every 6dB of volume attenuation causes a loss of 1 bit of resolution, Aesthetix’ volume control prevents all resolution loss by operating partially in the digital domain for small 1dB steps and partially in the analogue domain using relay-based switched resistors for large 6dB steps. Using this method, eighty-eight 1dB steps are created with zero loss of resolution.

The new Romulus & Pandora ‘Signature’ editions

Aesthetix ‘Signature’ editions are known for taking the circuit design of an existing model and bestowing it with ultra-high-quality components hand-picked to deliver the absolute peak of performance from that circuit design. The Romulus and Pandora Signatures are no exception, but also add DSD functionality.

True native DSD
The Romulus and Pandora Signature offer true native DSD playback: DSD 64 and DSD 128 over the USB inputs. The entire DSP processing section is replaced. The new section includes an advanced Xilinx gate-array which routes DSD data directly into the DAC, bypassing the DSP section for pure DSD operation. No alteration of DSD data occurs.

Peter Moncrief’s Dynamicaps
As with all Aesthetix Signature editions, critical coupling capacitors are replaced with Dynamicaps from Peter Moncrief. These provide increased resolution, less grain, greater high frequency extension and improved bass definition, drive and dynamics – all while maintaining the Romulus and Pandora’s beautifully natural tonal balance.

Vishay Z-Foil resistors
In addition to the new DSP section a new analogue board is installed, fitted with extremely low noise, high linearity Vishay Z-Foil audio resistors in the critical current-to-voltage conversion.

HRS Nimbus couplers
The four standard rubber feet are replaced with Harmonic Resolutions Systems’ Nimbus Couplers specially made for Aesthetix. This change lowers the noise floor and adds more air and space.

The new Romulus and Pandora Signature editions take what are already two of the best high-end DACs available and elevate them to skilful new heights. Digital noise, which typically creates an opaque and restricted soundstage, is almost entirely banished. Natural tonality, microscopic resolution, see-through clarity and an unimpeded, walk-around soundstage define the Aesthetix Signature difference.

Romulus & Pandora Signature key features:

Digital section
One USB and three SPDIF inputs:
Toslink optical capable of up to 24bit – 192kHz.
RCA Coax capable of up to 24bit – 192kHz.
AES/EBU capable of up to 24bit – 192kHz.
USB up to 24bit – 192kHz and DSD 128.
Optional second USB input.
USB asynchronous transfer mode licensed from Gordon Rankin / Wavelength Technologies.
Custom DSP-based digital section based around an advanced Xilinx gate-array.

Analogue section
Four valves in differential configuration (2 x 12AX7, 2 x 6DJ8/6922).
Zero feedback analogue circuitry.
Peter Moncrief’s ‘Dynamicaps’ coupling capacitors.
‘Vishay Z-Foil’ audio resistors in the critical current-to-voltage conversion stage.
Balanced and single-ended outputs.
Optional relay-based switched resistor analogue/digital volume control.

General features
All aluminium chassis construction.
Multiple stainless steel faraday cages isolate each of the digital, analogue and power supply sections, as well as the CD transport (Romulus).
Three transformers (Pandora): one for critical digital circuits, one for analogue circuits and one for control functions; plus two for the Romulus’ CD transport section (Romulus: five in total).
Custom ‘Nimbus Coupler’ isolating feet manufactured by Harmonic Resolutions Systems.
Full-function remote control.
RS232 control and 12v trigger for use with home automation systems.

Funjoe from CLONES got in touch to tell us about the release of their new DAC, Asher, named after Funjoe’s son.

The details of the new HK$17,500 DAC are as follows:

• DSD 64/128/256 and DXD (384KHz 24bit PCM) compatible
• Galvanic isolation module for USB section to eliminate computer noise from the audio signal
• Ultra-Low Phase Noise Femto Master Clock Module
• Power supply has separate toroidal transformers for analogue and digital section
• Latest Ultra-Low noise discrete regulator modules for digital part
• Remote Control Feature

Sampling rates:

• AES/EBU, COAX, OPT up to 192kHz
• USB/I2S: PCM 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, 384kHz; DSD64, DSD128, DSD256

Features:

• ESS Reference audio (ES9018) 32 bit DAC
• Automatic oversampling for precise output filtering
• VFD display for input, sample rate, volume control, and configuration
• Remote control with features such as control and phase inversion
• Defeatable – 32 bit volume control
• 1x Coax input
• 1X BNC input
• 1x Toslink input
• 1x AES/EBU input
• 1x I2S input
• Proprietary drivers for 32/64 bit Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Mac OSX
• Factory selectable mains  115/230VAC
• 322mm(W) X 260mm(D) X 90mm (H)
• Weight: 6kg
• 2 year warranty

The Kassandra uses the AD1865 chip, an 18bit R2R converter, which they say is probably the best sounding audio DAC …in fact they use 32 of them,16 converters per channel. 

The 16 converters in each channel work in complimentary mode, so that 8 converters are inverted. The two differential converter banks work in synchronicity  to achieve perfect symmetry. The 16 converters are working in current mode,and use an INtransformer so that the current differential is converted in single ended voltage output. No resistors or OPAMPS are used in the INconversion stage.

The analogue stage is implemented by a single ended transformer coupled triode stage, using the E280F,working in triode  mode, loaded with a  step down output transformer. The tube’s grid is driven by the secondary of the INtransformer  via an adjustable bias supply. The tube  power  supply is an oversized choke regulated supply. The step-down transformer  reduces the output  impedance  to 40ohms, with a maximum swing at full scale of 30Vpp sine wave.

The converter is equipped with an internal super-clock, which re-clocks the converters, making the processor virtually immune to transport changes, says the company’s press release. With the internal clock, there is no need for a word clock input. The super-clock re-clocker can be bypassed on the fly, so you can hear the effect of jitter elimination in your system.

The Kassandra Mk2 is available is signature version, with  upgraded power supplies. The Signature’s power supply is a complex system of a total of 8 toroidal transformers, for full separation of digital section, analogue supplies, clock supply and the tube circuits.