Earlier this year I bought a second hand PS Audio DL3 DAC and up until now have found it to be a very good machine, particularly as I only use it for listening to Spotify via Sonos.
I've never been that keen on it's looks and build quality though so I was pleased to notice a Metrum Octave MKII for sale from Elite Audio. Made the call and they had it couriered to me next day... very disappointing, the thing wobbled on my rack for starters and the SQ was inferior to the DL3.
It was a shame, but I wasn't that bothered really. I told the guys at Elite and made the mistake of asking how I could better the PS Audio without spending silly money, as quick as my Email left my PC I had a reply saying they had just the DAC for me!
The Audiolab M DAC + arrived today and as soon as I prised it from its box I could feel its quality.
As I have stated many times on this forum, I am an advocate of the silver disc, so a little skeptical of the benefits of a separate DAC, but straight out of the box I was hooked!
I haven't played around with the various filters yet and it still sounds superb. The most impressive aspect is its soundstage.
I'm not one for techy stats, but for those of you who are here's some figures for you:
– Compatibility: CD/CDR
– DAC: ESS Sabre32 9018 chip
– Resolution: 32 bits
– Sampling Opt/Coax/AES: 32–192kHz
– USB Sampling: 32kHz – 384kHz
Apparrently, the same DAC chips are used in the top of the range Krell DAC which costs a cool 15K.
I guess it could be seen as a bit overkill for what I use it for, but if at any time in the future I go down the streaming route more seriously, the M DAC+ more than caters for that avenue.
Anyone in the market for a sub £1000 DAC should definitely take a listen.
Mac
www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
I've never been that keen on it's looks and build quality though so I was pleased to notice a Metrum Octave MKII for sale from Elite Audio. Made the call and they had it couriered to me next day... very disappointing, the thing wobbled on my rack for starters and the SQ was inferior to the DL3.
It was a shame, but I wasn't that bothered really. I told the guys at Elite and made the mistake of asking how I could better the PS Audio without spending silly money, as quick as my Email left my PC I had a reply saying they had just the DAC for me!
The Audiolab M DAC + arrived today and as soon as I prised it from its box I could feel its quality.
As I have stated many times on this forum, I am an advocate of the silver disc, so a little skeptical of the benefits of a separate DAC, but straight out of the box I was hooked!
I haven't played around with the various filters yet and it still sounds superb. The most impressive aspect is its soundstage.
I'm not one for techy stats, but for those of you who are here's some figures for you:
– Compatibility: CD/CDR
– DAC: ESS Sabre32 9018 chip
– Resolution: 32 bits
– Sampling Opt/Coax/AES: 32–192kHz
– USB Sampling: 32kHz – 384kHz
Apparrently, the same DAC chips are used in the top of the range Krell DAC which costs a cool 15K.
I guess it could be seen as a bit overkill for what I use it for, but if at any time in the future I go down the streaming route more seriously, the M DAC+ more than caters for that avenue.
Anyone in the market for a sub £1000 DAC should definitely take a listen.
Mac
www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
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