merason dac1 digital to analogue convertor
The Swiss are famous for their precision watch engineering, but generally overlooked for their hi-fi. Merason continue their tradition of producing straightforward, high end digital to analogue convertors for discerning music listeners, despite the trend for manufacturers to overcomplicate things nowadays.
"the intoxicating immediacy of the Merason can be quite addictive, it does what few digital components do, strips away the polish and lets you hear the real meat of the music"
"Whether fed via S/PDIF connections or USB using a variety of forms of playback software, the DAC1 remained entirely consistent, presenting music in a way not always as hyper-detailed as some DACs can manage, but warm, rich and smooth without submerging what's being played in excessive lushness"
"There are lots of excellent sounding DACs in this price territory...it's my opinion the Merason DAC-1 is a serious contender for the best DAC at any price. Sonically, it competes toe-to-toe with the high priced big boys. 5K is not exactly loose change but I'd still be impressed if the DAC-1 was substantially more expensive."
The Merason DAC1 is simple, high-end DAC based around the Burr Brown PCM1794A DAC chips - a popular choice for high end digital conversion - and uses a discrete, balanced signal path, Class A buffering, and components chosen by hand based on listening tests rather than cold hard specifications.
The back panel of the Merason DAC1 is a simple affair, as the magic happens inside...
Digital inputs come in the form of optical, coaxial, USB, and balanced AES/EBU inputs.
Unbalanced RCA outputs provide a 1.5v output, and fully balanced XLR outputs provide 3v output, allowing connection to suitably equipped amplifiers.
-
dual Burr Brown PCM1794A DAC chips
-
Class A buffering circuitry
-
RCA unbalanced outputs [1.5v output]
-
XLR balanced outputs [3v output]
-
optical digital input [up to 24bit/192kHz]
-
coaxial digital input [up to 24bit/192kHz]
-
USB digital input [up to 24bit/96kHz]
-
AES/EBU digital input [up to 24bit/192kHz]
-
H100mm x W450mm x D290mm
-
2 year warranty
-
£5195 black or white acrylic finish