Enhance your computer or CD player’s
sound and make the most of your high-resolution files with a digital to analogue
converter
Product of the year
Best DAC up to $450
Audioquest DragonFly: $322.5
On the cover of our October issue, we
hailed the DragonFly as ‘Hi-Fi’s newest superstar.’ And our opinion hasn’t
changed; Audioquest’s tiny DAC/headphone amp has been the talk of the office
ever since it arrived.
Audioquest
DragonFly, the best DAC up to $450
It might be no larger than a USB stick, but
it can turn any computer (Mac or PC) into a fully functioning hi-fi system by
bypassing your computer’s internal DAC and using the high-grade converter in
its petite frame instead. You don’t need any external volume control either, as
it piggybacks the volume control of your music player’s software. This allows
both DAC and headphone amp to be squeezed into such a small space. In the
portability stakes, the DragonFly takes some beating.
File support is extensive: the unit can
play 24-bit/192kHz files natively although it has to down sample high-res
24-bit/192kHz to 24/96 during playback. The USB socket also supports
asynchronous data transfer. This means the digital clock in the DragonFly tells
your PC when to send data to the DAC, so the timing of the digital signal is
more accurate and jitter levels (digital timing errors) are lower. This
theoretically means better sound quality. In a nice touch, the logo changes
color to indicate the sampling rate is being used.
Miles better than your computer
The difference between the DragonFly and
the headphones socket on an Apple MacBook Pro, say, is day and night. Play
Ludovico Einaudi’s beautiful piano piece I Gorni and each note sounds clear and
distinct. The DAC captures the tracks graciousness and emotion perfectly.
Switch to some rock or R ’n’ B and the DragonFly displays weight, agility and
an impressive sense of rhythm. Marry this to an even tonal balance and
insightful levels of detail and there’s very little reason not to go for it.
We’ve heard many excellent-sounding DACs,
the best of which are here for your perusal. But it’s the simplicity and
elegance of the DragonFly combined with its fantastic sound that sees it stand
out from the crowd.
Best DAC $450-$750
Musical Fidelity M1 DAC: $600
Thanks to products such as the DragonFly,
DACs are starting to become more mainstream products in their own right. But
back in the 1980s, when all this was fields and DACs were big new first time
round, Musical Fidelity was one of the early evangelists.
Musical
Fidelity M1 DAC
Granted, these products were primarily used
to improve the performance of CD players, but the experience has positioned the
company well to exploit the boom in computer audio.
And the M1DAC is currently one of the best pound
for pound DACs currently available. Yes it’s mainly down to how the MF
performs, but having an extensive, modern list of specifications does the
device no harm at all.
Even the most testing classical
recordings are handled with the utmost skill and confidence this is a truly
unflappable DAC
Inputs aplenty
As well as optical, coaxial and
asynchronous type-B USB inputs, the Musical Fidelity includes a (rarely seen at
this money) balanced XLR digital input. This, along with the coaxial input,
will handle 24-bit/192kHz material. On the output side, the only things missing
are a headphone socket and volume control but you’ll doubtless have those on
your amplifier anyway.
Even the most testing classical recordings,
such as Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm Variations from the Buffalo Philharmonic are
handled with the utmost skill and confidence. It’s a wide-open listen, spacious
and well-focused, even when faced with a full-strength orchestra. Dynamic
shifts ranging from ‘barely there’ to ‘maximum attack’ are dispatched without
stress.
This is an agile, unflappable DAC that’s
just as happy to stride through a deep, complicated bass-line as it is to
deliver every last nuance in a solo voice thanks to its tonally vivid smoothly
integrated performance. And that’s a rare combination. High frequencies can
sound a little abrasive in a carelessly matched system but in every other
respect, the M1 DAC is as good a DAC at the price as we’ve ever heard.
Best DAC $750-$1350
Audiolab M-DAC: $900
You can’t keep a good DAC down. Or in the
Audiolab’s case a very good DAC. It might have lost its 2011 Product of the
Year crown to the DragonFly, but the M-DAC is still sensational value and can
more than hold its own against units costing twice as much
Audiolab
M-DAC
It looks smart, and connectivity is
thorough. Alongside the USB input you’ll find two digital optical and two
digital coaxial inputs, while on the output side you can choose from optical,
coaxial, RCA and balanced XLR audio. It even acts as a headphone amp, with a
socket and volume control on the front.
The wand-like remote is a neat design and
lets you switch inputs; select from preset sonic filters and alter the display.
The large, clear screen displays the input you’re using and the sample rate
being received. No file is too tough for the M-DAC, either, as it handles
everything up to high-res 24-bit/192kHz, but is limited to 24/96 over optical
and USB.
But box-ticking alone doesn’t win Awards.
The real beauty of the M-DAC is just how good it makes your music sound. It
does so effortlessly too, producing bags of detail, stirring dynamics, and an
exciting agility to the delivery.
The M-DAC will have you coming back
time and again just to see how well it handles all your favorite tracks
Nimble and precise
A WAV file of Hans Zimmer’s Time from the
Inception soundtrack requires plenty of information to be processed, but the
Audiolab doesn’t flinch and the sound remains precise and controlled
throughout. It’ll have you coming back time and again just to see how well it
handles all your favorite tracks. Bass is weighty, but at the same time the DAC
proves light and fast on its feet.
Audiolab has delivered a knockout blow to
many rivals this side of $1500. In terms of pure value for money, the M-DAC is
off the scale.
