DACs — Hifiverse audio equipment catalog

The PS Audio Stellar DAC features the Digital Lens technology with ESS Sabre ES9018K2M 32-bit Hyperstream converter, I2S inputs, class-A analog output, and high-current power supply.

3rd incarnation of the top-level Lampizat0r Pacific DAC based on a music-first philosophy of design and uses LampizatOr proprietary “Engine11-P” circuit. No more single-ended-only version here.

With dCS Varèse, the company is aiming for a level of audio quality that surpasses anything it has ever created. Varèse is made up of five components: the main streaming and processing unit, two mono DACs (one for each audio channel), a dedicated user interface unit, and an external clock generator for all components of the system, with an SACD/CD optical disc transport to follow later this year. At the heart of this ambitious project is a suite of new technologies, including the biggest update to the company’s Ring DAC architecture in a decade. It also features a new proprietary dCS Tomix clocking technology.

The device uses a pair of 32-bit ESS Sabre chips and an analog power supply of excess power with dedicated stabilizers for each part of the circuit. The network switch is implemented on an electronic relay, there are two network transformers, separately for each channel. The device accepts signals up to PCM 32/384, DSD128 and clearly shows what the power and strength of High End sound is.

The updated Jadis Electronics JS2 SL tube DAC is now based on the flagship Sabre ES9038PRO DAC chips from ESS Technology, using 32-bit Hypertream technology. The new DAC is equipped with four digital inputs controlled by a microcontroller and is capable of decoding digital streams in PCM format with parameters up to 24/192 from all inputs (or DSD only via USB).

The fully balanced Eversolo DMP-A10 has a built-in streaming module (there is support for streaming services such as Tidal, Spotify, Deezer, etc.), a pre-amplifier unit with an equalizer and its own room acoustics correction technology. Information about albums is displayed on a gorgeous 6.5” built-in display.

Galactic Reference DAC operates in Pure DSD mode and uses fully balanced, transformer-based tube output stage, also as Femto-jitter Master Clocks.

The HiFiMAN SERENADE Wireless DAC and Headphone Amplifier is designed for music lovers who are looking for flexibility with multiple streaming and physical connectivity options. DAC is equipped with a Wi-Fi module that enables wireless lossless streaming of high-resolution audio.

Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier FiiO K17 offers Flagship AKM AK4191 + AK4499EX x 2 DAC, 31-band high-precision lossless PEQ, discrete class AB transistor current amplification headphone amplifier and streaming functionality.

The key aspect of this solution is the processing of both DSD and PCM streams. Vector Step Resistance Network technology is specially used for decoding DSD, while the traditional R2R scheme is used for processing PCM. The process is controlled by a CPLD chip, which guarantees accurate decoding of musical material.

The Primare SC15 Prisma MK2 is a true all-rounder, combining the capabilities of a streamer (network player), DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and preamplifier.

The FiiO S15 is a DAC/streamer with a high-quality analog section and a balanced output on XLR connectors. The new product is Roon Ready certified and supports DLNA and AirPlay. In addition, the FiiO S15 can be used as a preamplifier (has a digital volume control), which allows you to connect the player directly to a power amplifier or active loudspeakers.

Core Audio DENPO has balanced and unbalanced outputs and uses ROHM BD34301 (MUS-IC) chip. As a NOS DAC 1 chip design DENPO offers natural sound.

Upsampling DAC with volume control and Linearized R-2R with four PCM1704 chips per channel offers PCM 24 bits, 705.6kHz or 768kHz, DSD via DoP up to DSD512.

SMSL Audio has introduced the flagship desktop DAC SMSL RAW Pro-DAC1 based on the ES9039MSPro chip from ESS Technology. This DAC supports hardware decoding of the signal in the MQA format, which allowed the model to receive MQA and MQA-CD certification.

The Schiit Audio Gungnir 2 DAC expands on Schiit Audio’s multi-bit approach. It uses a new balanced analog stage and four medical/defense-grade DAC8812CRUZ converters with a proprietary time- and frequency-domain-optimized digital filter (based on an Analog Devices DSP). It can be user-switched to operate in a no-oversampling (NOS) mode to bypass the digital filter.

The engine of the Chord Hugo TT2 is a Xilinx Artix 7 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) custom coded by Rob Watts – it consists of 86 cores, each running in parallel at 208 MHz, and the overall system design is now based on ten elements. As result, the time reconstruction filter, 16FS WTA 1, operates with 16x oversampling and an accuracy of 98,304 weighting coefficients (taps). Disclaimer - Hugo 2 operated with 49,152 taps.

The heart of this DAC is not even a DA-converter, but a tube output stage, which forms a unique sound signature. Well, the new model has finally added the option - the ability to roll (change) tubes. Compatible with power tetrodes and pentodes, plus only one and common 6.3 V heater voltage, enabled LampizatOr Atlantic 3 TRP to offer tens of different tube types to be used alternatively. TRP = Tube Rollers Paradise, as the company wrote.